“bullets for each of you”the bullets, we have enough for each one of you, so beware.”...
TRANSCRIPT
“Bullets for Each of You”
State-Sponsored Violence since Zimbabwe’s
March 29 Elections
Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-324-2 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org
June 2008 1-56432-324-2
“Bullets for Each of You” State-Sponsored Violence since Zimbabwe’s March 29 Elections
I. Summary............................................................................................................... 1
II. Recommendations ...............................................................................................5
To the Government of Zimbabwe .........................................................................5
To the Movement for Democratic Change ........................................................... 6
To the Southern African Development Community .............................................. 6
To the African Union............................................................................................7
To the EU, US and other international donors ..................................................... 8
To United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.............................................. 8
III. Methodology.......................................................................................................9
IV. Background....................................................................................................... 10
Organized Political Violence.............................................................................. 10
Ongoing State Repression................................................................................. 12
General Elections in March 2008....................................................................... 12
V. State-Sponsored Violence and Torture since the March 29 Elections.................. 14
A Campaign of Violence .................................................................................... 14
Reasons for the Violence................................................................................... 15
Incitement and Organization of the Violence ..................................................... 17
VI. Patterns of Violence ......................................................................................... 29
Abductions and Killings in Mashonaland East and Harare .................................29
Torture Camps and Bases in Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland
Central, Mashonaland West and Masvingo........................................................30
“Re-education” Meetings in Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and
Mashonaland West ...........................................................................................34
Creation of ‘No-Go’ Areas in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and
Mashonaland Central........................................................................................39
Arrests, Beatings and Torture of MDC activists in Harare....................................40
Violence, Looting and the Destruction of Homes and Property in Mashonaland,
Masvingo and Manicaland ................................................................................46
Attacks by MDC Activists ...................................................................................52
VII. Harassment and Attacks on Civil Society..........................................................53
Attacks on Election Observers ...........................................................................53
Arrests of Journalists, Lawyers and Civil Society Activists...................................54
VIII. Government Response to the Abuses ..............................................................56
Failure of the Police to Prevent Violence ............................................................56
IX. Zimbabwe’s International Human Rights Obligations........................................59
X. Impunity and the Need for Accountability...........................................................61
XI. Response of International Actors ..................................................................... 62
SADC and the AU...............................................................................................62
Other International Actors .................................................................................63
XII. Acknowledgements..........................................................................................67
“If you vote for MDC in the presidential runoff election, you have seen the bullets, we have enough for each one of you, so beware.”
—Soldiers addressing villagers at meetings in Karoi, Mashonaland
West
1 Human Rights Watch 2008
I. Summary
The campaign of violence and repression in Zimbabwe, aimed at destroying
opposition and ensuring that Robert Mugabe is returned as president in runoff
elections on June 27, 2008 is claiming thousands of victims as the government at
national and local levels actively, systematically and methodically targets Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) activists and perceived MDC supporters.
The violence has been particularly concentrated in former rural strongholds of the
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)—areas that to the party’s
shock voted for the MDC in the parliamentary and first-round presidential elections.
Punishing “sell-outs,” former ZANU-PF supporters who voted for the MDC, is a clear
objective. Within government-supporting circles, the operation has been dubbed
“Operation Makavhoterapapi?” (Operation Where Did You Put Your Vote?).
Around the country, the ruling party and its allies are blocking access to villages
targeted by ZANU-PF violence, preventing people from fleeing, including those in
need of medical treatment. Party allies have warned hospitals not to treat victims of
political violence or face retaliation. Meanwhile, measures are being put in place to
restrict both local and international electoral monitoring of the runoff poll.
If current conditions are maintained, there is no possibility of a credible, free and fair
poll. Time has nearly run out for Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and the African Union (AU) to make the necessary political interventions to end the
violence and ensure a free and fair vote.
This report, based on investigations in Zimbabwe, describes the scale of the abuses
and identifies those responsible—officials from ZANU-PF, often working through
proxy forces of so-called war veterans and youth militia, backed by members of the
armed forces and police. Local institutions have identified at least 2,000 beatings
and cases of torture. At least 36 people have been killed, including, in May,
abducted MDC activists. Given the movement restrictions in place and the limit to
“Bullets for Each of You” 2
information flow that results, Human Rights Watch believes that the number of
people attacked far exceeds these figures.
ZANU-PF officials and “war veterans” are beating, torturing and mutilating suspected
MDC activists and supporters in hundreds of base camps, many of them army bases,
established across the provinces as local operations centers. Abusive “re-education”
meetings are being held to compel MDC supporters into voting for Mugabe. In one of
these meetings, on May 5 in Chiweshe, ZANU-PF officials and “war veterans” beat six
men to death and tortured another 70 men and women, including a 76-year-old
woman publicly thrashed in front of assembled villagers.
ZANU-PF and its allies are engaged in a campaign of looting and destruction,
slaughtering animals, stealing food and property, and burning down homesteads.
More than 3,000 people are known to have fled the violence and are now internally
displaced in cities and towns throughout the country with inadequate access to food
and water. An unknown number have fled across the borders to Mozambique,
Botswana and South Africa.
The violence is being orchestrated by the Joint Operations Command, which is
headed by senior ZANU-PF officials and includes the heads of the Zimbabwe Defence
Forces, police, prison services, and the Central Intelligence Organization. In some
areas local police are attempting to enforce the rule of law, but they are being
undermined by their own superior officers.
Human Rights Watch investigations indicate that the army is playing a major role in
supporting the violence. It has provided known “war veterans” and ZANU-PF
supporters with guns, transportation and bases from which serious human rights
violations are carried out.
The government is allowing those perpetrating violence to do so with impunity.
Instead of taking action to restore normality and conditions conducive to free and
fair elections, it is further clamping down on civil society. Since the parliamentary
and inconclusive presidential polls on March 29, 2008 police have arrested human
3 Human Rights Watch 2008
rights lawyers, journalists, civil society activists and trade unionists on politically
motivated charges.
In an apparent bid to subvert the runoff electoral process and instill fear in local
election officials and observers, police have arrested more than 100 presiding
officers and election officials on politically motivated charges of electoral fraud.
ZANU-PF supporters have attacked hundreds of observers from the independent
election organization, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, and forced many to
flee their homes.
The government has attempted to portray reports of the violence as exaggerated—
and then mainly perpetrated by the MDC. Human Rights Watch investigations show
that while there have been some attacks by MDC supporters on ZANU-PF supporters,
the number of such incidents is far outweighed by those perpetrated by ZANU-PF and
its allies.
Government complicity in the violence is reflected in its failure to acknowledge the
extent of the violence and the widespread involvement of senior army officers, police
officials and groups backed by the state security forces. By allowing perpetrators of
abuses with high rank to act with impunity, President Mugabe and the government of
Zimbabwe bear full responsibility for these serious crimes.
There is a long history of impunity for serious human rights violations perpetrated by
ZANU-PF and its allies when faced by political opposition, stretching back to the
1980s and atrocities by government military forces in Matabeleland. Violence around
elections intensified following the emergence of the MDC as a political contender in
1999. What is happening now, however, eclipses the violence in any previous
election.
For Zimbabwe’s future stability, it is imperative that the country breaks with its
history of impunity. The human rights violations documented in this report constitute
grave abuses for which those responsible must be held accountable. The
government must impartially investigate and fairly prosecute those who have
organized and committed politically motivated violence and related crimes since the
“Bullets for Each of You” 4
March 29 elections. Any future government—whether it emerges from the
presidential runoff or from negotiations between the two main parties—should not
grant amnesty to perpetrators of serious abuses.
The AU and SADC, supported by the United Nations (UN), have only days in which to
make an impact on reducing violence and ensuring a free and fair vote. This is an
opportunity for clear political leadership in support of human rights and the future
stability of Zimbabwe, which, as recent xenophobic violence in South Africa has
demonstrated, is increasingly impacting the domestic situation of its neighbors. Now
is the time for failed mediation strategies to be abandoned, and a clear message
given to the authorities that they face becoming regional pariahs should no action be
taken.
5 Human Rights Watch 2008
II. Recommendations
To the Government of Zimbabwe
• Immediately cease organizing, managing and providing resources for the
violent campaign against MDC activists and perceived MDC supporters by
state security forces, ZANU-PF supporters and officials, youth militia and “war
veterans.”
• Take all steps necessary to ensure that the military plays a completely neutral
role in the elections. Take appropriate disciplinary or legal action against
military officers who fail to ensure that forces under their command act in a
neutral fashion.
• Demobilize and disarm the youth militia and “war veterans.”
• Institute measures to end the practice of torture and other mistreatment.
Ensure the police dismantle all known torture camps and bases and
prosecute those responsible for torture and other mistreatment.
• Ensure the police take swift and impartial action to protect all persons in
Zimbabwe from human rights violations and to investigate all apparent
politically motivated abuses.
• Cease the politically motivated arrests of civil society activists, journalists,
lawyers and election officers and observers.
• Allow unfettered access to all humanitarian agencies seeking to assist
displaced persons in the provinces affected by the violence.
• Ensure that people have freedom of movement within Zimbabwe and that
those in need of medical attention are able to seek it without any hindrance.
• Cease the harassment and intimidation of medical personnel in rural district
hospitals and ensure that they are able to discharge their duties in a safe and
secure environment.
• In accordance with international standards, convene an independent
commission of inquiry to investigate alleged politically motivated crimes
“Bullets for Each of You” 6
since the March 29 elections and prosecute those responsible regardless of
position or rank.
• Ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment; invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit
the country.
In the period prior to the presidential runoff
• To protect those involved in observing and monitoring the presidential runoff,
ensure that police abide by international human rights standards and act to
ensure the safety of election observers, journalists, human rights monitors
and other civil society activists.
• Allow immediate and unfettered access to electoral observers, human rights
monitors, journalists and civil society activists seeking to report on the
elections to all parts of the country.
• Allow international human rights monitors and electoral observers to remain
in the country for as long as they deem necessary to fulfill their respective
mandates.
• Facilitate the safe and voluntary return of all those displaced by the violence
to their homes and ensure that they are able to vote in the runoff.
To the Movement for Democratic Change
• Condemn all acts of violence by MDC members and supporters and call on
supporters and members to desist from carrying out acts of violence.
To the Southern African Development Community
• Publicly condemn and call for an immediate end to the violence.
• Publicly demonstrate that SADC disapproves of the abuses taking place and
demand that the government of Zimbabwe restore basic civil and political
rights.
7 Human Rights Watch 2008
• Immediately deploy double the number of electoral observers deployed to
monitor the March 29 polls to ensure widespread access to all parts of the
country.
• Ensure that electoral observers remain in the country for as long as necessary
after the presidential runoff to help minimize electoral and human rights
abuses and to report publicly on those occurring.
• Deploy human rights monitors to Zimbabwe to investigate reports or
allegations of abuses and report publicly on the findings.
• Ensure that the government of Zimbabwe allows freedom of movement and
access to human rights monitors and electoral observers around the country.
• Insist on full accountability for politically motivated crimes committed in
Zimbabwe since March 29 and call for an independent and impartial
commission of inquiry into the abuses.
To the African Union
• Publicly condemn and call for an immediate end to the violence.
• Set up a committee of African eminent persons to intervene directly with the
government of Zimbabwe and raise the AU’s immediate concerns.
• Publicly demonstrate that the AU disapproves of the abuses taking place and
demand that the government of Zimbabwe restore basic civil and political
rights.
• Immediately deploy double the number of electoral observers deployed to
monitor the March 29 polls to ensure widespread access to all parts of the
country.
• Ensure that the government of Zimbabwe allows freedom of movement and
access to human rights monitors and electoral observers around the country.
• Ensure electoral observers remain in the country for as long as necessary after
the presidential runoff to help ensure that the aftermath is free from human
rights abuses and to report publicly on any that may occur.
“Bullets for Each of You” 8
• Insist on full accountability for politically motivated crimes committed in
Zimbabwe since March 29 and call for an independent and impartial
commission of inquiry into the abuses.
To the EU, US and other international donors
• Provide technical and financial support to a possible AU/SADC human rights
monitoring team.
• Continue to withhold non-development aid to Zimbabwe that is currently
suspended until the following conditions are met: clear and convincing
evidence exists that the government has taken effective steps to curb the
political violence, to put in place conditions that allow for a free and fair
runoff election and to act to resettle those displaced by the violence. These
steps should include, at a minimum, the full and public investigation of
allegations of politically motivated violence, including by government officials
and members of the security forces, and appropriately prosecuting those
responsible; and the provision of additional and adequate security measures
in areas affected by the violence in the lead up to the presidential runoff.
• Call on the government of Zimbabwe to allow unfettered access to all parts of
the country to local and international election observers, the media and civil
society organizations seeking to report on the elections.
To United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
• Appoint a Special Envoy to Zimbabwe to investigate and publicly report on
the abuses taking place.
9 Human Rights Watch 2008
III. Methodology
This report is based on three research missions to Zimbabwe in March, April and May
2008. Researchers conducted more than 70 interviews with victims, eyewitnesses,
perpetrators of abuses, police, lawyers, medical personnel, MDC members of
parliament, MDC officials, police, prison officers, civil society activists and diplomats,
in person and on some occasions by phone. Interviews were conducted in English
and Shona without interpreters. Human Rights Watch also examined post-mortem
reports, police affidavits, court orders and medical reports. Researchers visited
Harare, Manicaland, Masvingo, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East,
Mashonaland West, Midlands provinces, Bulawayo and Matebeleland North
provinces.
For security reasons, many people spoke to Human Rights Watch on the condition of
confidentiality, requesting that the report not mention their names or other
identifying information. Details about individuals and locations of interviews when
information could place a person at risk have been withheld.
“Bullets for Each of You” 10
IV. Background
Organized Political Violence
In response to challenges from other political forces, the ruling Zimbabwe African
National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and its political allies have commonly used
violence as a tool since the country gained independence in 1980. The main
perpetrators have been ZANU-PF supporters, so called “war veterans,”1 youth militia2
and state security forces, including the police and the army.
For example, state security forces were involved in systematic and widespread
atrocities in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the 1980s, aimed at destroying
support for the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) led by Joshua Nkomo, the
most significant political alternative to ZANU in the war of liberation and immediately
post-independence. In the 1997 report "Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace—A
Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands, 1980 to 1988,"3 the
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Legal Resources Foundation
estimated that there had been more than 3,000 extrajudicial executions, hundreds
of "disappearances," more than 7,000 beatings or cases of torture and more than
10,000 arbitrary detentions in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and
Midlands provinces in that period.4 The report presented evidence indicating that
most killings and "disappearances" were committed by government forces, most
notably the army's Fifth Brigade.
Since 1999, when the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) emerged as a strong
political contender to ZANU-PF, violence around elections has intensified. The
1 Many of the “war veterans” implicated in recent abuses are believed to be individuals hired by the government to commit abuses under the guise of “war veterans.” Many are too young to be genuine war veterans or have fought during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle in the 1970s. However, Human Rights Watch’s evidence indicates that these fake “war veterans” are being led by genuine war veterans who fought during the struggle for independence. 2 The youth militia, also known in Zimbabwe as “green bombers” because they often wear olive green military fatigues, are part of a government-run National Youth Service Program. According to the government, the program is aimed at training youths to be good citizens and to take part in community services initiatives. 3 See Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Legal Resources Foundation, Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands, 1980 to 1988 (Harare: Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Legal Resources Foundation, 1997). 4 Ibid.
11 Human Rights Watch 2008
overwhelming majority of victims of violence during the country’s most recent
elections in 2000, 2002 and 2005 were officials and members of the MDC, their
supporters and anyone perceived to support the party, including ordinary
Zimbabweans and civil society activists.
In the run-up to the parliamentary election of June 2000, international organizations
such as Amnesty International documented extrajudicial executions, torture,
beatings and abductions—the vast majority committed by supporters of the ruling
party or government agents.5 Further state-orchestrated violence took place in the
run-up to the 2002 presidential election, as documented and criticized by members
of observer missions from the United States, Norway, the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) and the Commonwealth present during that
election, as well as international nongovernmental organizations.6
Elections in 2005, although flawed, were significantly more peaceful in the run-up.7
However in the immediate aftermath, the government of Zimbabwe embarked on
Operation Murambatsvina (Clear the Filth), an eviction campaign that left more than
700,000 people without homes or livelihoods.8 The evictions were carried out
throughout the high-density urban areas of the country. Although the government
claimed that the operation was carried out to remove criminal elements and clean up
the cities, Human Rights Watch and others contended that one of the reasons was to
punish those in the high-density suburbs who voted for the MDC during the 2005
elections.
5 Amnesty International, “Terror tactics in the run-up to elections,” June 2000, http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFAR460142000?OPEN&of=ENG-ZWE (accessed February 28, 2008). 6 See Commonwealth Observer Report, “Preliminary Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Zimbabwe Presidential Election, 9–10 March 2002,” March 14, 2002, http://www.afrol.com/Countries/Zimbabwe/documents/commonw_elections_group.htm (accessed February 28, 2008); “Preliminary Statement on Presidential Elections by the Norwegian Observer Team,” Oslo, March 13, 2002, http://www.afrol.com/Countries/Zimbabwe/documents/commonw_elections_group.htm (accessed February 28 2008); and “Statement on the Zimbabwe Elections,” SADC Parliamentary Forum Observer Mission, Harare, March 13, 2002, http://www.africaaction.org/docs02/zim0203.htm (accessed February 28, 2008). 7 Human Rights Watch, Not a Level Playing Field: Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Elections in 2005, March 21, 2005, http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/zimbabwe0305.pdf. 8 Human Rights Watch, Zimbabwe – Evicted and Forsaken: Internally Displaced Persons in the Aftermath of Operation Murambatsvina, vol. 17, no. 16(A), December 1, 2005, http://hrw.org/reports/2005/zim1205/zim1205webwcover.pdf.
“Bullets for Each of You” 12
Zimbabwe’s violent history of elections has also been accompanied by widespread
impunity.9 Few of those implicated in grave abuses either in the 1980s in
Matabeleland or during past elections have been brought to justice. This means that
little has been done to discourage acts of violence during more recent times. Those
who committed past abuses have remained free to carry out further acts of violence
and intimidation.
Ongoing State Repression
Incidents of violence and intimidation carried out by the state have not been limited
to election years. The government of Zimbabwe has long been intolerant of criticism,
and this has intensified over recent years as the economic situation has collapsed
and support for the MDC has grown. Attacks on opposition politicians, civil society
activists and journalists, use of unnecessary or excessive force by police forces in
quelling peaceful demonstrations, and the use of repressive legislation have
remained serious human rights concerns. The brutal police beating of MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai and scores of other MDC and civil society activists on March 11,
2007, underscores the high levels of intolerance and intimidation that have affected
the country.10
General Elections in March 2008
The run-up to the March 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections differed
significantly from elections in 2000 and 2002 because there was far less violence.
However, the serious flaws that marked those elections and the 2005 parliamentary
elections remained, and included a partisan and inadequately prepared electoral
commission, concerns about pre-poll rigging, unequal access to the state media,
and government restrictions on the rights to freedom of association, assembly and
9 Zimbabwe’s long history of impunity for perpetrators of violence and torture is well documented by Human Rights Watch and by organizations such as Redress and Amnesty International. See for example, Redress and the Amani Trust, “Torture in Zimbabwe, Past and Present,” June 2005, http://www.redress.org/publications/Amani2005.pdf (accessed March 11, 2008); Redress, “Zimbabwe: From Impunity to Accountability: Are Reparations Possible for Victims of Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations?” March 2004, http://www.redress.org/publications/Beyond%20impunityA5.pdf (accessed March 11, 2008); Amnesty International, “The Toll of Impunity,” June 25, 2002, http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAFR460342002?OPEN&OF=ENG-ZWE (accessed February, 2008); and Human Rights Watch, You Will Be Thoroughly Beaten: The Brutal Suppression of Dissent in Zimbabwe, vol. 18 no. 10(A), November 1, 2006, http://hrw.org/reports/2006/zimbabwe1106/zimbabwe1106web.pdf. 10 Human Rights Watch, Bashing Dissent: Escalating Violence and State Repression in Zimbabwe, vol. 19, no. 6(A), May 2, 2007, http://hrw.org/reports/2007/zimbabwe0507/.
13 Human Rights Watch 2008
expression. ZANU-PF supporters were implicated in serious incidents of violence and
intimidation against MDC activists, and the use of food and agricultural inputs as
political tools against the opposition. 11
Prior to the March 29 elections, Human Rights Watch expressed serious concerns
about the possibility of post-election violence due to the flawed nature of the
electoral process and the failure of the government to address persistent political
intolerance and impunity in Zimbabwe since the 2000 elections.12
Despite these pre-election conditions, ZANU-PF suffered an extraordinary and
unexpected defeat at the hands of the MDC in parliamentary elections. The release of
the results of the presidential elections, which took place on the same day, was
delayed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) after the ruling party
questioned the validity of both the parliamentary and presidential elections. The ZEC
called for a recount in 23 constituencies,13 but this brought no significant changes in
the results.
The delay in the announcement of the presidential results seriously heightened
political tensions in the country.14 On May 2, more than a month after the general
election, the ZEC finally announced the presidential results with Morgan Tsvangirai
winning 47.9 percent of the vote and the incumbent Robert Mugabe winning 43.2
percent.15 Under Zimbabwe’s electoral laws, the failure of the leading candidate to
win a 50 percent plus one vote majority necessitated a runoff between the two
leading candidates,16 which the ZEC set for June 27.17
11 Human Rights Watch, All Over Again: Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections, vol. 20, no. 2(A), March 19, 2008, http://hrw.org/reports/2008/zimbabwe0308/. 12 Ibid. 13 “ZEC accepts vote recount,” News 24, April 10, 2008, http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2303398,00.html (accessed May 27, 2008). 14 After tallying the polling results, the MDC declared that Morgan Tsvangirai had won the vote by a majority of 50.3 percent. The delay in publishing the presidential results left the government open to allegations of attempting to manipulate the vote, and reduced the credibility of the results. 15 “Zimbabwe announces poll results,” BBC news online, May 2, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7380445.stm, (accessed May 27, 2008). 16 Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 2007, Amendments to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act [Chapter 2:12] (No. 22 of 2004), the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] (No. 25 of 2004) and the Traditional
Leaders Act [Chapter 29:17] (No. 25 of 1998). 17 “Zimbabwe names date for run-off,” BBC news online, May 16, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7404603.stm (accessed May 27, 2008).
“Bullets for Each of You” 14
V. State-Sponsored Violence and Torture since the
March 29 Elections
A Campaign of Violence
Human Rights Watch investigations since the March 29 elections show that ZANU-PF
quickly responded to the loss of its parliamentary majority for the first time since
independence and its leader finishing second in the presidential vote by unleashing
a systematic and brutal campaign of violence against the opposition. Those leading
the campaign have dubbed it “Operation Makavhoterapapi?”18 (Operation Where Did
You Put Your Vote?).
There is overwhelming evidence that the organized pattern of abuses have been
replicated throughout the provinces. In nearly all the areas affected by violence,
victims and eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that it was usually conducted at
night and was characterized by abductions, beatings and the looting and burning of
huts and other property.
ZANU-PF officials and “war veterans” are beating and torturing suspected MDC
activists and supporters in hundreds of base camps established across the
provinces as local centers of operations. ZANU-PF supporters, government officials,
“war veterans” and state security forces are conducting brutal daily “re-education”
meetings in which they beat and at times torture local residents to force them to
denounce the MDC and swear allegiance to ZANU-PF. Further, ZANU-PF and its allies
have gone on a campaign of widespread destruction of property and looting,
including the burning of homesteads, that has led to thousands of people being
internally displaced. There has been a spate of abductions and killings of known
MDC activists by suspected agents of the state, ZANU-PF supporters and “war
veterans” in the province of Mashonaland East and in Harare.
18 In various Human Rights Watch interviews across the country, in Harare, Masvingo, Mashonaland East, Central and West as well as in Manicaland, victims repeatedly mentioned this operation by name, suggesting a central origin of the operation.
15 Human Rights Watch 2008
Interviews by Human Rights Watch with more than 60 victims and eyewitnesses
indicate that the violence has been concentrated in areas traditionally viewed by
ZANU-PF as “strongholds,” in the provinces of Mashonaland West, Mashonaland
Central and Mashonaland East, as well as the provinces of Manicaland, Masvingo
and the capital Harare. Human Rights Watch has also documented other incidents of
violence in Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces.
Reasons for the Violence
For the very first time in its history, ZANU-PF either suffered heavy losses or won by
much narrower margins than it expected in its “strongholds” in the parliamentary
elections. For example, in Mashonaland Central, one of the areas of rampant ZANU-
PF violence, ZANU-PF actually won 16 of the 18 contested House of Assembly seats.19
In Mashonaland East, another area that has seen high levels of ZANU-PF violence
(almost 50 percent of the cases documented by Human Rights Watch), ZANU-PF won
19 of the 23 contested House of Assembly seats.20 However, closer scrutiny of the
polling station results indicate that the MDC made significant inroads in each of
these provinces, losing by much narrower margins than ZANU-PF had anticipated. In
other violence-affected provinces such as Masvingo and Manicaland, ZANU-PF lost
constituencies that it had previously held to the MDC.
The violence appears to be intended to punish Zimbabweans who voted for the MDC
on March 29, in particular those who voted in the “strongholds.” It is being used to
deter people from voting for the MDC and to persuade them to vote for ZANU-PF
during the presidential runoff. Finally, it is being used to change the political
landscape of rural areas by effectively displacing and thereby disenfranchising the
voting rights of known MDC members and supporters.
The scope and scale of the post-election violence far exceeds that seen during past
election years of 2000, 2002 and 2005. Local human rights organizations have
reported thousands of incidents of violence throughout the country since April. For
19 Kubatana , “Results - 'Harmonised' elections 29 March 2008: House of Assembly and Senate,” http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/elec/080329kubres.asp?spec_code=080121elecdex§or=ELEC, May 15, 2008, (accessed May 27, 2008) 20 Ibid.
“Bullets for Each of You” 16
example, on May 8, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)
reported that it had documented 900 victims of organized violence and torture,
including 22 deaths, in the post-election period.21 As of May 27, Human Rights Watch
had confirmed at least 36 deaths and found that the number of confirmed victims of
violence and torture across the country had risen to almost 2,000.22 Nearly all were
MDC activists or people perceived to have voted for the MDC. Some have been
observers from the independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network.
ZANU-PF supporters and their allies have not found it necessary to prove that a
person voted for the MDC before meting out “punishment.” Instead they have
examined results posted outside polling stations to identify areas where people
voted for MDC in large numbers, even if the MDC lost to ZANU-PF in those areas.23
For example, a 26-year-old man from Mudzi, Mashonaland East was beaten by ZANU-
PF youth simply because they believed he was an MDC member. He told Human
Rights Watch:
They surrounded my place around midnight on April 13. They were 30
ZANU-PF youth and war veterans. They broke down the door and tied
my hands and took me. I was beaten with logs until 8 a.m. I was
accused of being an MDC member and a sell-out.24
In Mudzi, Mashonaland East, victims told Human Rights Watch that ZANU-PF
supporters accused MDC officials and polling agents of “bringing the disease of MDC
into the area,” necessitating a cleansing process that would be achieved through
beating people into repentance.25
In Vhombozi village, Mudzi, Mashonaland East, ZANU-PF supporters went on a witch-
hunt for those suspected of having voted for the MDC in order to punish them. A 41-
21 Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, “Statement concerning escalating cases of organised violence and torture, and of intimidation of medical personnel,” May 9, 2008. On file with Human Rights Watch. 22 Human Rights Watch interviews with medical personnel documenting cases of beatings and torture in Harare, April, May and June 2008. 23 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims from Mudzi, Mashonaland East, Harare, April 17, 2008. 24 Human Rights Watch interview with 26-year old man, Harare, April 17, 2008 25 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims from Mudzi, Mashonaland East, Harare, April 17, 2008.
17 Human Rights Watch 2008
year-old man told Human Rights Watch how a group of suspected ZANU-PF
supporters attacked him in his home on the night of April 11:
l noticed that my neighbor’s hut was on fire, more people [ZANU-PF
supporters] came from a maize field where they were hiding. They were
more than 20 in number and dragged me about 500 meters from my
hut. There they began beating me with wooden logs on the buttocks
for at least 20 minutes. They burnt down my hut, together with a heap
of maize and sorghum. They also stole my sewing machine and radio.
They said l was a friend of an MDC activist and therefore must also be
an MDC activist myself who must be punished for helping to betray the
country. One of the people was shouting saying, “You sell-out, why did
you vote for MDC?” Those who beat me said ZANU-PF would not
tolerate sell-outs; among them were two women who also participated
in beating me. As a result of the beatings l fractured my left arm and
suffered badly swollen fingers.26
In Mutoko, Mashonaland East on the night of April 10, ZANU-PF supporters brutally
beat about 20 men suspected of voting for the MDC before the entire village. A 45-
year-old man told Human Rights Watch that the ZANU-PF supporters used whips,
chains and iron bars to beat him and they broke his left leg below the knee. They
repeatedly said that his “crime” was that he voted for the MDC during the elections.27
Incitement and Organization of the Violence
As in the elections of 2000 and 2002, the post-election violence in 2008 did not
arise spontaneously. Human Rights Watch has credible evidence that senior security
officers at the local and national level of government are organizing and inciting the
violence. Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed more than 60 victims and
eyewitnesses who implicated by name local headsmen, ZANU-PF councilors, MPs
and supporters who were working closely with senior ranking army officers, police
and prison officers, and agents from the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO).
26 Human Rights Watch interview with 41-year-old man, Harare, April 17, 2008. 27 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 18
The government has sought to hide its role in the abuses by using groups of “war
veterans” and youth militias as proxy forces to commit violent acts. However, Human
Rights Watch investigations uncovered links between the government and ZANU-PF,
the youth militia, and “war veterans” involved in serious human rights violations.
This includes evidence that those who directly committed abuses were acting under
the orders or with the acquiescence or complicity of senior ranking army and police
officers.
The Role of the Joint Operation Command
Human Rights Watch has information from credible sources in the police and prison
services, as well as from victims and eyewitnesses that Operation Makavhoterapapi was planned and orchestrated under the direction and command of the
government’s Joint Operations Command (JOC).28 The JOC is comprised of the heads
of Zimbabwe’s security forces: the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, police, Zimbabwe’s
Central Intelligence Organization and the prison services. Minister of Rural Housing
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was implicated in abuses in Matabeleland in the 1980s,
is reported to be in charge of the JOC.29 According to the Zimbabwe Independent, Mnangagwa replaced Minister of State Security Didymus Mutasa as head of the JOC
soon after March 29.30
JOC members have made clear their support for the ZANU-PF government rather than
the Constitution. For example, General Constantine Chiwenga was quoted in the
Standard newspaper in March before the elections as saying that “the army would
not support or salute sell-outs and agents of the West before, during and after the
presidential elections,”31 a clear reference to the MDC. On May 31, Chief-of-Staff
Major General Martin Chedondo said, “Soldiers are not apolitical; only mercenaries
28 For instance, Human Rights Watch interview with victims and witnesses, Harare, April and May, 2008; Human Rights Watch interview with victims in Mutare, April 28, 2008; and Human Rights Watch interview with Biggie Haurobi, MDC official, Karoi, Mashonaland West, April 30, 2008. 29 See “Mnangagwa Running ZANU-PF Campaign,” Zimbabwe Independent, May 8, 2008; “Mujuru Opposes Violence,” Zimbabwe Independent, May 22, 2008. 30 Ibid. 31 “Army chief warns of coup if ‘sell outs’ win,” zwnews online, March 11, 2008, http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=18356 (accessed March 12, 2008).
19 Human Rights Watch 2008
are apolitical. We should therefore stand behind our commander-in-chief … If you
have other thoughts, then you should remove that uniform.”32
Although Human Rights Watch cannot link the JOC directly to specific acts of violence,
our interviews of more than 20 victims and eyewitnesses from separate incidents
named at least 10 senior ranking police, prison and army officers who report to the
heads of the JOC as inciting or participating in abuses. Their participation could not
have occurred without the knowledge and acquiescence, if not direct participation,
of the JOC.
The Role of Police and Prison Service Officers
Human Rights Watch has also gathered information that some senior ranking police
officers are ordering or inciting subordinates to commit politically motivated violence.
Human Rights Watch interviewed two police officers who reported that from May 6 to
9, 2008, different teams of senior police officers from Police Headquarters
addressed members of the police force at all police camps in Harare province.33 The
Officer Commanding Harare Province, law and order police Boyson Mathema
reportedly called for the meetings, dubbed “Police Project Meetings,” which were
addressed by senior police officers. According to the officers interviewed by Human
Rights Watch, the message sent to the police camps was basically the same: MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai would never rule the country and that the police should be
ready to go to war if Tsvangirai won a second round of elections. They said that
senior officers threatened the lower ranking officers and told them that they were
aware that a significant percentage of the police forces had voted for the MDC, but
they would not be allowed to “sell out” the country. According to the officers, this
message was replicated at similar meetings throughout Harare.
As described below, members of the police force have been implicated in
widespread post-election abuses around the country, including politically motivated
arrests, beatings and torture. Victims informed Human Rights Watch that senior
32 “Troops 'must back Mugabe or quit,’” BBC news online, May 31, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7429238.stm
(accessed June 2, 2008). 33 Human Rights Watch interviews with police officers and prison services officers, Harare, May, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 20
police officers in the provinces of Mashonaland East and in Manicaland were actively
involved in inciting violence and carrying out attacks. For example, Human Rights
Watch gathered evidence from three persons who were attacked by “war veterans”
and police in unrelated incidents that Police Assistant Commissioner Martin
Kwainona of the Presidential Guard was allegedly involved in inciting, leading and
perpetrating violence in Mt. Darwin, Mashonaland Central.34
A 43-year-old man told Human Rights Watch:
I was an MDC polling agent. On April 17, Martin Kwainona came to my
house at 10 a.m. and accused me of having insulted a member of
ZANU-PF. He begun assaulting me saying he was going to clear all MDC
from Mt Darwin. He arrested me and took me to Dotito police station
where he instructed police to beat me. I was beaten by police for two
days in police custody. I was set free on April 20 when I came to
Harare.35
A 48-year-old man told Human Rights Watch that Martin Kwainona threatened all the
people attending a gathering at Tsengurwe Secondary school in Mt. Darwin on April
18 saying: “All MDC members in Mt. Darwin must be made to disappear, we are busy
training our youths to do just that.” According to the man, Kwainona went on to say
that “MDC people surrender and rejoin ZANU-PF because we are going to vote again.
If you don’t, we know you, and will come for you. We will never be ruled by
Tsvangirai.”36
A 28-year-old woman on April 16 witnessed Martin Kwainona beating a person at
Dotito police station in Mt. Darwin. She told Human Rights Watch:
Four police officers came to my home and arrested me and took me in
a private car to Dotito police station. They beat me with batons for
more than 30 minutes. At the police station the Officer in Charge
34 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims, Harare, April and May, 2008. 35 Human Rights Watch interview with 43-year-old man, Harare, April 22, 2008. 36 Human Rights Watch interview with 48-year-old man, Harare, April 22, 2008.
21 Human Rights Watch 2008
Sergeant [name withheld] said, “Here we in Mt. Darwin South our
commander is Martin Kwainona.” I was detained overnight and beaten
again, several times during the night and was released on April 17. As I
was leaving the police station I saw a person being brought into the
station by Martin Kwainona. Martin Kwainona was beating him as he
took him into the station. I heard him say to the police in the station,
“Go and fix MDC members for the next 21 days, beat them till they
reveal all their plans about betraying the country.”37
Victims and eyewitnesses named at least three other senior police and prison
service officers as organizing and participating in violence in Mashonaland East,
Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central provinces.
Human Rights Watch also spoke to three officers from the Zimbabwe prison services
who described the systematic deployment of senior prison officers to various
provinces to oversee Operation Makavhoterapapi, under the direct command of the
JOC.38 According to the officers, at least five senior prison officers from Harare Central
Prison were deployed to provinces in Mashonaland Central, Manicaland and
Mashonaland East in the weeks after the March 29 elections.
Defence Force Involvement in Acts of Violence and Torture
Numerous victims and eyewitnesses described to Human Rights Watch the direct
involvement of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (comprised of the Zimbabwe National
Army and the Zimbabwe Air Force) in acts of violence and torture. The army has been
implicated in committing abuses such as beatings and torture, carrying out nightly
raids in search of MDC activists and perceived MDC supporters, as well as providing
logistical and other forms of support to “war veterans” and ZANU-PF supporters to
enable them to carry out acts of violence. As described below, the army perpetrated
much of the violence in the capital Harare in April.
37 Human Rights Watch interview with 28-year-old woman, Harare, April 22, 2008. 38 Human Rights Watch interviews with police officers and prison services officers, Harare, May, 19, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 22
In a May 8, 2008 statement, the army denied any involvement, stating the army
“categorically distances itself and any of its members from such activities.”39
However, Human Rights Watch found numerous instances of army involvement in
acts of violence and torture that could not have taken place without the knowledge
of senior army officers. In some cases, senior serving and retired military officers
themselves directly participated in the violence.
A court case brought before the High Court of Zimbabwe on May 19 highlights the
army’s involvement in violence. In his petition Eric Matinenga, an MDC member of
parliament for Buhera West, Manicaland, alleged that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
were in fundamental breach of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Defence Act
because of unlawful activities they were carrying out in Buhera West and other rural
areas. These included the alleged subjection of MDC supporters to harassment,
assault and humiliation. Matinenga named the Commander of the Zimbabwe
Defence Forces General Constantine Chiwenga and Major Svosve, a company
commander in Buhera West. (Several local contacts and eyewitnesses who spoke to
Human Rights Watch have separately identified Major Svosve as being present
during attacks in Buhera.) On May 23, 2008, Justice C. Bhunu issued a provisional
court order setting the following terms:
1) Deployment of Zimbabwe Defence Forces in the rural areas particularly in
Buhera West for any purpose other than that provided for by the Zimbabwe
Constitution as read with the Zimbabwe Defence Act is hereby declared
unlawful and has to be stopped forthwith.
2) Members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces unlawfully deployed in the rural
areas particularly in Buhera West for any purpose other than that provided for
by the constitution of Zimbabwe as read with the Defence Act be withdrawn
forthwith.
3) The respondent should put in place immediate measures to ensure that army
officers seconded to rural areas particularly Buhera West confine their
operations within their constitutional duties in terms of section 96 (1) of the
constitution of Zimbabwe.40
39 “ZNA not linked to political violence,” Letter to the editor, The Standard, May 11, 2008. 40 Case no: HC2624/08, May 19, 2008, on file with Human Rights Watch.
23 Human Rights Watch 2008
In another case, five individuals told Human Rights Watch that a senior army officer
from Harare was directing and inciting the violence from 3 Brigade, the provincial
base of the army in Mutare, Manicaland province.41 Others said that “war veterans”
and ZANU-PF youths and supporters were operating from 3 Brigade army barracks
and were assisting the army by pointing out houses of MDC activists and compiling
lists of MDC activists.42
One person, a prominent MDC activist in Mashonaland East, arrested by the police
after “war veterans” abducted and tortured him in Mashonaland East, told Human
Rights Watch that a military commander in the Zimbabwe Air Force, Bramwell
Kachairo, came to the police station after he heard of the arrest. According the
activist, Kachairo said, “I have come to see this MDC thug. I want to see his face.” He
then told him, “When you get out of prison I am going to slaughter you and you will
be removed from your home.” The man told Human Rights Watch, “Kachairo is the
one causing the violence.”43
Three other people in Mashonaland East named Bramwell Kachairo as being
responsible for organizing and sometimes taking part in the beatings in the province.
One told Human Rights Watch that he had seen Kachairo threatening people with
groups of “war veterans” in Mashonaland East. He told Human Rights Watch, “He is
the one leading the violence. He goes around with the youth militia and ‘war
veterans’ and is always armed.”44 Another said, “I have seen him beating people in
the area. He is very dangerous.”45
In Mashonaland West, seven persons who witnessed attacks on MDC activists in the
towns of Chinhoyi, Kariba and Hurungwe believe that were being coordinated and
directed by Air Marshall Perence Shiri.46 They said they had witnessed several senior
military officers operating under Perence Shiri in these areas. They included a
brigadier general and two lieutenant colonels. Human Rights Watch was also able to
41 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008. 42 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008. 43 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Mapengo Mapengu, Harare, April 18, 2008. 44 Human Rights Watch interview with Togarepi Manuchi, Harare, April 17, 2008. 45 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 18, 2008. 46 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, Karoi, Mashonaland West, April 30, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 24
obtain the names and service numbers of three other senior ranking army officers
operating in the area.
The following accounts gathered by Human Rights Watch point directly to army
involvement in abuses in various provinces.
In Mashonaland East, a 26-year-old MDC youth activist told Human Rights Watch
that on April 15 uniformed and armed soldiers descended on a safe house in
Murehwa Town Centre for MDC activists who had fled political violence in rural
Murehwa:
At around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, a pickup truck arrived at the
gate of our safe house with about 15 soldiers in uniform; many of them
had rifles and hand guns. One of them pulled out his gun and shouted,
“We have found the people we are looking for, let us beat them!” and
he began to advance towards the house.
We all ran in different directions. Unfortunately for me, l panicked and
fled into the house where four soldiers followed me and began to beat
me with the butts of their guns on the head, saying they were looking
for me—but they did not know it was me they were beating. They also
used batons to beat me. As l ran towards their truck at the gate, one
soldier pulled out a gun and pointed it at my head and tripped me so
that l fell to the ground. While l was on the ground more soldiers came
to beat me and to kick me in the ribs and stomach, after some time l
got up and began to run away towards a nearby village. I have a
heavily swollen right hand, severe chest pains, as well as pain in my
sides and legs. I also have some injuries on my head.47
In Zinoro Village, Mutoko North district, Mashonaland East a 32-year-old man who
contested the March 29 elections as an MDC councilor, alleged that he was attacked
by soldiers and police officers:
47 Human Rights Watch interview with MDC activist, Harare, April 17, 2008
25 Human Rights Watch 2008
On Saturday April 12, around 9 p.m., six soldiers in uniform from Joko
army barracks [the army barracks in Mutoko] came to Nyamuzuwe
Township in four cars, with guns. They were in the company of a Senior
Assistant Commissioner from Police Support Unit, Everisto Pfumvuti
and “war veterans” from my village.
The soldiers fired their guns into the air and we all fled in different
directions. They ran after us, I was caught and beaten using whips, but
was later rescued by my MDC colleagues who had regrouped to carry
out a rescue operation. We ran for more than 20 kilometers to Mutoko
Centre. There I sold my mobile SIM card to raise money for transport to
Harare where we were admitted at [a] clinic on 16 April. I have no idea
how my family is now, they were threatening to burn down my house. I
fear for my family.48
A 32-year-old man from Zihute village, Murehwa North, Mashonaland East, told
Human Rights Watch:
I was at Murehwa Centre together with many other displaced people at
a safe house when on April 15 at 6 p.m. four uniformed soldiers came,
armed with guns, and said, “We want to see your leader here.” People
started to flee when they saw raised guns.
We jumped over a security fence, but we were caught by the soldiers
and put, two of us, in an unmarked car and driven along Mutoko road
towards Joko army barracks in Mutoko. Before we got to Joko army
barracks, one of the four soldiers in the car took out a knife from his
pocket and aimed to stab me in the chest, I blocked the knife with my
open palm and I kicked the door and jumped out of the moving car. I
sustained a deep cut inside my right hand—got three stitches, got
bruised when I fell from car. The other person I was abducted with did
48 Human Rights Watch interview with 32-year-old man, Harare, April 17, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 26
not manage to escape. I do not know what happened to him. I am not
going back to my home, it is too dangerous.49
Army Assistance to ZANU-PF Supporters, Youth Militia and “War Veterans”
Human Rights Watch also gathered information from more than 20 victims and
eyewitnesses that indicate the army’s involvement in providing guns and
transportation to abusive “war veterans” and ZANU-PF supporters. Armed “war
veterans” and ZANU-PF supporters have been implicated in shooting incidents in
Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central. “War
veterans” and youth militia have reportedly been operating from army bases and
camps in Manicaland and Harare. Victims also reported that in some incidents the
“war veterans” were using army trucks and pickups to carry out raids on the homes
of MDC activists and supporters.
In some cases “war veterans” have masqueraded as soldiers by wearing army
uniforms. In one incident a man told Human Rights Watch that he knew that some of
the uniformed men who beat him were not soldiers, even though they were dressed
as such, because one of the men had “dreadlocks” and not the customary short hair
that all soldiers are required to have in Zimbabwe.50
Human Rights Watch documented several cases where victims and eyewitnesses
saw civilians armed with rifles and handguns, in some cases firing at MDC
supporters. For instance in Murehwa, a 33-year-old man from Munemo Village in
Murehwa North, Mashonaland East province was shot by a member of ZANU-PF at
Murehwa Centre on April 14. He told Human Rights Watch:
On Monday, 14 April as we walked to our MDC offices at Murehwa
Centre, at Mwamuka turn off, a car with a ZANU-PF logo and marked
“ZANU-PF” but without number plates came towards us at full speed.
The passenger in the car brought out a gun, then the car deliberately
attempted to run us over, and hit three of my colleagues in the legs.
49 Human Rights Watch interview with 32-year-old man, Harare, April 17, 2008. 50 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 18, 2008.
27 Human Rights Watch 2008
Our MDC youth leader, Shingi Nheweyembwa shouted “Boys get
down!” when he saw the passenger in the car pulling out a gun and
preparing to fire. I was slow to go down and was shot in the head with
a gun. Immediately after being shot I fainted. I do not what happened
to me—I have no recollection of events that followed. I understand
police officers manning a traffic roadblock about 200 meters from
where the incident occurred came to our assistance. I do not know the
person who shot me, but l know the driver of the vehicle. I was
fortunate in that the bullet grazed the back of my head but did not
affect the skull, leaving only an open wound on my head.51
In another incident in Makoni-West, Manicaland, armed “war veterans” opened fire
and shot at a group of MDC supporters, injuring three. One of the female supporters,
Tabeth Marume, subsequently died from her wounds. The “war veterans” had set up
a makeshift base at Chiwetu Rest Camp from which they abducted, beat and tortured
known MDC supporters. On April 23 the war veterans abducted 12 MDC members
and took them to the camp where they were beaten. In response, 22 other MDC
supporters including Marume went to the camp to negotiate the release of their
colleagues.52
One of the MDC supporters told Human Rights Watch what took place when they got
to the camp:
When we got to the base, we were confronted by more than 50 war
veterans and ZANU-PF youths, 12 “war veterans” had guns, AK-47 guns
[military assault rifles]. They ordered us to sit down. We refused and
said we had come to seek the release of our colleagues. I went into a
room where our colleagues were being beaten, with hands tied at the
back, lying facing the ground, l only managed to untie one colleague
when the “war veterans” fired into the air. Most of my colleagues
began to run away, some escaped. The second round of fire was
51 Human Rights Watch interview with 33-year-old man, Harare, April 18, 2008. 52 Human Rights Watch interviews with three MDC activists, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 28
directed at us, and Tabeth Marume was shot in the stomach. Two of
my colleagues were also shot, one in the thigh and the other in the calf.
Other “war vets” caught me before l could escape and began to beat
me with iron bars, one blow was delivered on my left arm and l heard
my arm snap and knew straight away that my arm was broken. The
bone was protruding through the skin but l forced myself to run away.
The next day we organized transport to take us to Mutare Provincial
Hospital because there was no medication at Rusape hospital. At this
point Tabeth was alive but her bleeding was too much. In the truck
that we used to travel to Mutare l held Tabeth’s head in my lap, she
was in great pain. As we approached Mutare, about 20 kilometers from
Mutare she asked me for a glass of water. I gave her just a few drops,
then she began to roll her eyes. An old woman with us in the truck
simply said, “She is gone,” and that is how she died.53
The MDC supporter and two others who were involved in the incident identified the
“war veterans” who allegedly had guns as Retired Colonel Daniel Romeo
Mutsvunguma, Mapfumo, Chikata, Madondo and Noah Mahwata. Mutsvunguma
allegedly fired the shot that killed Tabeth Marume.54 MDC chairperson Stephen
Chigori told Human Rights Watch, “Retired Colonel Daniel Mutsvunguma shot her. I
saw Mutsvunguma fire his gun. I know him very well.55
53 Human Rights Watch Interview with Stephen Chigori, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008. 54 Human Rights Watch interviews with three MDC activists, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008. 55 Human Rights Watch interview with Stephen Chigori, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008.
29 Human Rights Watch 2008
VI. Patterns of Violence
Abductions and Killings in Mashonaland East and Harare
Human Rights Watch interviewed several victims and eyewitnesses around the
country who implicated ZANU-PF supporters, “war veterans,” CIO agents and soldiers
in the abduction of scores of known MDC activists. Victims of the abductions
informed Human Rights Watch that they were taken to military bases or “war
veteran” bases and camps where suspected ZANU-PF supporters, “war veterans”
and soldiers beat and tortured them, including by mutilation. Other victims reported
that the perpetrators would take them into the bush or deep into the hills and
mountains of the countryside, and beat and torture them before leaving them for
dead.
The abductions have taken an even more disturbing turn with at least five incidents
of abductions and killings of known MDC activists recorded in May. In one
particularly horrifying incident, at least 12 suspected ZANU-PF supporters abducted,
beat, tortured and murdered three MDC activists on May 7.
Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses and relatives of the dead men who said
that ZANU-PF supporters ambushed the car of four MDC activists as they were driving
to Murehwa in Mashonaland East. One escaped, but Beta Chokururama, Godfrey
Kauzani and Cain Nyevhe were pulled from the car and taken away. Chokururama’s
body was found on May 11 in a river in Murehwa, while the bodies of Kauzani and
Nyevhe were found some kilometers away in Goromonzi district on May 17. The eyes
of the victims had been gouged out, and their tongues and lips cut off.56 Human
Rights Watch spoke to medical doctors who confirmed that the men were beaten and
tortured.57
On May 21, the body of another MDC activist, Tonderai Ndira, was discovered at a
mortuary in Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare. According to relatives who spoke to
Human Rights Watch and witnessed the abduction, in the early hours of May 14, 10 56 Human Rights Watch interviews with relatives of the three dead men, Harare, May 17, 2008. 57 Human Rights Watch interviews with doctors, Harare, May 17, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 30
armed men, some in police uniform, took Ndira from his home in Mabvuku, Harare
and bundled him into a truck.58 One relative who identified the body of Ndira at the
hospital told Human Rights Watch that his eyes had been gouged out, and his
tongue and lips cut off. He also had extensive injuries to his head and face, and
suspected stab and bullet wounds. Police refused to release his body into the
custody of his family for an independent post mortem to be done to ascertain the
cause of death. The body was only handed over to Ndira’s family for an independent
post mortem and burial after the intervention of lawyers, Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights, who secured a court order compelling police to release the body.59
On May 22, four persons suspected by eyewitnesses to be CIO agents reportedly
abducted the losing senatorial MDC candidate for Murehwa North in Mashonaland
East. His body was found in the Goromonzi Mountains, Mashonaland East two days
later.60
Torture Camps and Bases in Manicaland, Mashonaland East,
Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Masvingo
Victims and eyewitnesses from Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and
Mashonaland Central, Manicaland and Masvingo told Human Rights Watch about
the establishment of torture camps throughout the provinces in the immediate
aftermath of the parliamentary and first presidential elections. The camps are used
to beat and torture victims to punish for voting for the MDC, to extract information
from the victims on the whereabouts of other MDC activists and supporters, and
finally to force victims to denounce the MDC and swear allegiance to ZANU-PF.
One 36-year-old MDC activist who was tortured at a base in Mashonaland East on
April 10 told Human Rights Watch:
About 35 people came to my hut around 2 a.m. led by our village
headman who is also a “war veteran.” They forced their way into my
hut and they dragged me, my mother and my wife from the hut and 58 Human Rights Watch interview with relative of Tonderai Ndira, Harare, May 22, 2008. 59 Human Rights Watch Interview with Harrison Nkomo, lawyer, May 26, 2008. 60 Restore our Human Rights Zimbabwe Alert, “Shepperd Jani Murdered,” May 24, 2008.
31 Human Rights Watch 2008
took us about two kilometers away into the nearby bush, to their base,
where they begun to beat us, accusing us of being MDC. They used
thick wooden sticks, open palms, clenched fists and booted feet to
beat and kick us. We were finally rescued by our colleagues from the
MDC who heard our cries and came to our rescue after more than an
hour of beatings.61
A 32-year-old man from Uzumba in Mashonaland East told Human Rights Watch that
he was taken to a base called Karimbika on April 11 where he was handcuffed and
beaten for a whole night with iron rods, barbed wire and logs. He told Human Rights
Watch:
At the base they were nearly 200 ZANU-PF youths. They said “You
people have sold the country to white people, now we are beating you
to cleanse you, after this you must repent and apologize because our
country cannot go to [UK Prime Minister] Gordon Brown.” I was then
ordered to give them all the names of MDC polling agents and I did
because I feared for my life. I was released at 11 a.m. the following day
and told to go back to my house and not leave.62
Another man abducted by “war veterans” on April 11 in Mashonaland East told
Human Rights Watch, “I was taken to a base at Benson Mine. There I saw uniformed
soldiers, ‘war veterans’ and ZANU-PF youths. They beat me for an hour and poured
water on me and said, ‘Now you are baptized for re-admittance into ZANU-PF, your
sins are forgiven.’”63
Human Rights Watch was able to establish that there were at least 11 bases in
Chipinge East and Central districts—eight bases in Chipinge East and three in
Chipinge Central64 in the province of Manicaland.
61 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 62 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 63 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 21, 2008. 64 Human Rights Watch interviews with victim and several eyewitnesses, Mutare, 28 April 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 32
According to victims and eyewitnesses to the violence, Odzi Country Club in Mutare,
Manicaland province was also converted into a base. The base was visited by a
Human Rights Watch researcher who witnessed scores of youth militia going through
marching drills.
Victims and eyewitnesses informed Human Rights Watch that financing and food for
the bases in Manicaland came from the army, and “war veterans” and ZANU-PF
supporters raiding villages and local communities for goats and cattle to slaughter.
For example, one victim tortured by “war veterans” at a base in Makoni North told
Human Rights Watch that his torturers boasted they had stolen nine of his goats and
the animals of other victims to maintain their camp.65 Other victims told similar
stories of finding looted goods and animals at the camps or bases.
A 41-year-old man who was tortured at a base in Makoni North, Manicaland on April
16, told Human Rights Watch that youth militia, “war veterans” and ZANU-PF youths
had converted former tobacco barns into torture chambers. He was taken to one of
these chambers and told Human Rights Watch:
At this base called Dzete the ZANU-PF youths took turns beating me
throughout the night. They put me in leg irons and handcuffs and
stretched me on the ground and in that position they begun to ask me,
“Who did you vote for?” I said I am a community police officer under
the police forces so I voted for ZANU-PF.
They begun to beat me saying, “You are lying, we know some of you
have betrayed the country.” After supper they continued to beat me.
They whipped me 12 times on my back. I was released at around 3 a.m.
They told me that I was now an informer and agent of ZANU-PF. They
said, “You must tell us who all MDC members and cadres are.” I said I
would do it. They said, “Now go but report back here at base at 3 p.m.
with a comprehensive list of MDC names. I fled to Harare instead.66
65 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 19, 2008. 66 Human Rights Watch interview with 41-year-old man, Rusape, Manicaland, April 28, 2008.
33 Human Rights Watch 2008
Human Rights Watch also received information of the existence of at least five camps
or bases where beatings and torture of MDC activists and perceived activists took
place in Nyanga district, Manicaland. These bases were located in the following
areas: close to Barenga army camp, in ward 23, at Nyanga Country Club, in ward 15
and at the Ruwange business center.67
Human Rights Watch gathered similar evidence of torture bases and camps in the
provinces of Masvingo, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland
Central.68
In one incident, a man from Mashonaland East province who was abducted by “war
veterans” and later saved by the police, told Human Rights Watch that police took
him to five bases around the province as they tried to prevent “war veterans” from
carrying out acts of violence, an attempt which failed. He told Human Rights Watch:
When the police came and rescued me they took me to Dumuyera
shopping center where there is a base. A war veteran leader called
Masango was there beating a lot of people and trying to burn the home
of a businessman. At Luckydip there was also a base there and police
tried to get the war vets to disperse. There were also bases at Jani,
Chitugazuwa, and Rukado. At Chitugazuwa base I saw people who
were beaten so badly. I saw a lady who couldn’t walk she was severely
beaten up. It was around past 7 p.m. People were being brutally
beaten.69
On May 13, the Herald newspaper reported that police had dismantled camps in
Bikita and Gutu in the province of Masvingo.70 However, the police did not carry out
any arrests or take any other action against those responsible for setting up the
camps. Further, Human Rights Watch has evidence of the continued existence of
other camps in Masvingo, as well as in other provinces around the country.
67 Human Rights Watch information from confidential source, Harare, May, 2008. 68 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, Harare, April and May 2008. 69 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 18, 2008. 70 “Anti-violence drive intensifies,” The Herald newspaper, May 13, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 34
“Re-education” Meetings in Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East
and Mashonaland West
Some of the worst violence has taken place during “re-education” meetings
conducted by ZANU-PF, “war veterans,” youth militia and the army. The sole purpose
of these meetings has been to coerce the population into voting for ZANU-PF and
denouncing the MDC through beatings and torture. Villagers have informed Human
Rights Watch that the meetings take place on a daily basis with ZANU-PF and its
allies visiting areas and villages in the provinces where they believe they suffered
significant losses to the MDC or where they won by very narrow margins. The posting
of results outside polling stations has enabled the party to target these areas with
little difficulty. Victims told Human Rights Watch that people are forced to chant
ZANU-PF slogans and swear allegiance to the party at the meetings.
Local ZANU-PF officials have also used these meetings to incite people to punish
those who voted for the MDC in the general elections and to ensure that in the event
of a presidential runoff people would be too afraid to vote MDC again. Those who are
suspected of voting for the MDC are beaten and tortured before the rest of the village.
For example, in Karoi district, covering the constituencies of Hurungwe East, West,
North and Central, in Mashonaland West province, witnesses told Human Rights
Watch that on April 6 winning politicians from ZANU-PF addressed party faithful in
Karoi in Chikangwe Hall, and said that people had voted the wrong way, and that this
must be corrected ahead of the presidential runoff election. The people gathered
were told that what was about to be done was called Operation Makavhoterapapi?71
Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that Peter Tapera Chanetsa, ZANU-PF winning
Member of Parliament for Hurungwe North, and Rueben Marumahoko, ZANU-PF
Senator for Hurungwe, addressed ZANU-PF members on April 6 and said, “People
voted the wrong way, so people must be beaten thoroughly so that no one will ever
vote MDC again,”72 The first incidents of violence against MDC supporters and
members in Karoi occurred the next day. Since then Human Rights Watch has
71 Human Rights Watch interview with Stephen Chigori, Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008. 72 Human Rights Watch interview with Biggie Haurobi, MDC losing parliamentary candidate for Hurungwe East, Karoi, April 30 2008.
35 Human Rights Watch 2008
documented several incidents of violence by ZANU-PF supporters against people
perceived to have voted for the MDC in this area.
The army also played a role in systematically targeting village heads and chiefs and
ordering them to call for meetings in different parts of Karoi. Everyone was required
to attend these meetings without fail, and according to eyewitness accounts the
soldiers repeated one message to the people: No one should dare vote for MDC in
the event of an anticipated presidential runoff election.
Those summoned to the meetings told Human Rights Watch that all meetings in
villages around Karoi and Hurungwe took the same form, chiefs and headmen
summoned their people to the meeting, which was addressed by uniformed
members of the army who intimidated villagers by brandishing rifles in the air and
displaying live ammunition to villagers. Each villager would be given a bullet to hold
in their hands, then a soldier would say, “If you vote for MDC in the presidential
runoff election, you have seen the bullets, we have enough for each one of you, so
beware.”
According to the eyewitnesses, soldiers and war veterans used new Mitsubishi
pickup trucks, many of them without number plates, but some had logos of the
national electric company, ZESA.73 Such meetings were held on April 19 at Karereshe
School, on April 20 at Doro, on April 21 at Chisape School and on April 22 at Kanyati
and were reported to be planned for Nyamhunga, Chidamoyo and Munjinga. In a
clear example of government involvement in the “re-education” meetings,
eyewitnesses informed Human Rights Watch that their vehicles were refueled each
morning at Hurungwe Rural District Council Offices.74
In another case from Mudzi, a 33-year-old man told Human Rights Watch of his
ordeal at the hands of ZANU-PF supporters on April 11:
73 ZESA is the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, a parastatal body responsible for providing electricity around the country. 74 Human Rights Watch interviews with several eyewitnesses, including background interview with MDC official Biggie Haurobi, Karoi, Mashonaland West, April 30, 2008. Human Rights Watch also received information of very similar army campaigns targeting village heads and chiefs in Mhondoro and in Gokwe Kapuyuni areas.
“Bullets for Each of You” 36
At around 6 p.m. ZANU-PF members called for a ward meeting and one
ZANU-PF member came to summon me to attend the meeting. He said,
“You are wanted at the meeting, you have to answer for your crime.” At
the meeting the ZANU-PF ward chairperson said to me, “We know you
voted MDC so now we shall proceed to punish you. You must know
that in the coming runoff election no one will vote for MDC in the entire
Mudzi area,”… they beat me on the buttocks using thick sticks and
iron bars. During the beatings I fainted two times. I was beaten so
much that I sustained a huge open wound on my left buttock.75
Six Deaths During a “Re-education” Meeting in Chiweshe
The brutal nature of the ZANU-PF “re-education” meetings was seen in Chiweshe,
Mashonaland Central on May 5 when ZANU-PF officials and “war veterans” organized
a meeting at Chaona primary school and brutally beat and tortured over 70 villagers,
leaving six men dead. Human Rights Watch spoke to eight victims of the violence
and several relatives of the dead men.
On the night of May 4, villagers in Chiweshe noticed groups of people being trucked
to Chaona Primary school in the center of Chiweshe. The villagers identified the
people as being youth militia from Border Gezi camp in Mt. Darwin, Mashonaland
Central (they wear a distinctive olive green uniform) as well as ZANU-PF youths and
“war veterans” from surrounding villagers. Up to 300 of these people arrived at the
primary school. An announcement was then made that on the following day people
should go to a meeting at the primary school. In the early hours of May 5, ZANU-PF
youths went knocking door-to-door calling people to attend the meeting. When the
people got there they were addressed by a person who was identified as Retired
Major Cairo Mhandu, a former soldier and “war veteran.”
The villagers told Human Rights Watch that Mhandu told the crowd, “This community
needs to be taught a lesson. It needs re-education. We want people to come forward
and confess about their links and association with the MDC and surrender to ZANU
PF. This is what we want.” No one came forward. After a brief pause one of the ZANU-
75 Human Rights Watch interview with 33-year-old man, Harare, April 22, 2008.
37 Human Rights Watch 2008
PF youths grabbed a 76-year-old woman and made her lie in front of the crowd on her
stomach. They said, “We will beat this woman if people don’t come forward.” They
started beating her with logs on her buttocks. After 10 minutes, three men came
forward and said they were MDC just to stop the youth from beating the woman.
Cairo Mhandu said this is what he wanted, more people to come forward.
The ZANU-PF supporters also had a list of about 20 MDC activists who they called out.
They proceeded to beat these people and demand that they each reveal the names
of at least five other activists. In pain, the victims would shout out the names of any
people and they too would be called out and beaten.
The ZANU-PF youths and supporters would bring forward three or four people at a
time. They tied the legs of the victims and handcuffed their hands, before forcing
them to lie prone on their stomachs. Three ZANU-PF youths with thick sticks would
stand on either side of the victim and take turns beating the victims on the back,
back of the legs and buttocks. The ZANU-PF youths and supporters either stripped
the women naked or down to their underwear before beating them. In some
incidents the perpetrators tied barbed wire around the genitals of the men and tied
the other end of the wire around logs. The perpetrators then forced the men to use
their genitals to pull the logs as they continued to beat them. Several men sustained
serious injuries to their genitals as a result.
The beatings continued all that afternoon and evening. More than 70 people were
beaten, of which 30 were hospitalized at Howard and Concession hospitals in
Mashonaland Central, while others were transferred to Avenues clinic in Harare. The
beatings only ended that evening when five police officers arrived. The 300
assailants dispersed but police caught and beat one of the assailants before
releasing him. To date no arrests have been made.
Six men subsequently died from the horrific beatings and torture that took place that
day. Two of them, Alex Chirisiri and Tapiwa Meda died on the spot after the beatings.
Joseph Madzuramhende died later that day. Geoffrey Jemedze and Wilson Emmanuel
“Bullets for Each of You” 38
died at Avenues clinic on May 9, Jemedze from renal failure. Fushirai Dofu died on
May 10 at Howard hospital.76
A government doctor who spoke to Human Rights Watch confirmed that three of the
men who died had severely mutilated genitals, beaten and swollen testicles, one
had crushed testicles. Many of the men he treated had damaged genitals. The doctor
also confirmed that many of the women beaten on that day sustained severe injuries
to the buttocks requiring skin grafts.77
Killed for Owning a Radio: the Death of Joseph Madzuramhende
The relatives of Joseph Madzuramhende, one of the three men who died on
May 5, told Human Rights Watch about how he was beaten and tortured.
According to relatives who witnessed the beating, when the six ZANU-PF
youth started beating Madzuramhende they made him lie on his stomach like
the others but later turned him onto his back, and stuffed a cloth in his mouth
to prevent him from shouting out. They allegedly said to him: “Your particular
crime is that you have a radio at your place and other villagers were coming to
your home to listen to Studio 7 (Voice of America program which airs in
Zimbabwe) and to listen to election results and this is your crime.”
They took barbed wire and tied his genitals and tied the other end of the wire
to a log. They said: “We will beat you until you move the log with your penis.”
He attempted to do so and the wire was cutting into his genitals as they
continued to beat him. They then took another log, put his genitals on the log
and begun to beat the genitals. Later they tied another wire around his
genitals and started dragging him until a part of his genitals came off. After
the beatings Madzuramhende’s relatives put him on an ox cart. He was still
talking. He died in his home at around 8 p.m. that night in a leaning position
because he couldn’t lie on his stomach or his back due to his injuries.1
76 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims, Harare May 6 and May 7, 2008; Human Rights Watch interviews with relatives of the dead men, Mashonaland Central, May 15, 2008, and Harare, May 1, 2008. 77 Human Rights Watch interview with doctor, Mashonaland Central, May 15, 2008.
39 Human Rights Watch 2008
A 33-year-old woman, an MDC supporter, told Human Rights Watch about how a
group of “war veterans” beat her with logs and sticks on that day. She sustained
serious injuries to her buttocks:
The chief called out the name of me and my husband and we were
made to stand to one side with other people called from the list. We
were told that we had been called because we were from the MDC. We
were taken aside and beaten with sticks in front of everyone. They
made us lie down and tied our hands with handcuffs and beat us with
thick sticks. They were counting as they beat us and taking turns. I was
beaten 115 times on each buttock. They were many of them. I knew
some of them.78
Creation of ‘No-Go’ Areas in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and
Mashonaland Central
ZANU-PF supporters and “war veterans” have created “no-go areas” across broad
swathes of the countryside in the provinces of Mashonaland East, Mashonaland
West and Mashonaland Central to prevent victims from leaving the provinces, and to
prevent foreign journalists and local human rights organizations from reporting on
the violence. They have placed barricades across roads leading to villages hit by the
violence making the areas inaccessible.
Thousands of people are unable to flee the violence and have been left without food,
water or shelter. In a deliberate attempt to punish those it suspected of having voted
for the MDC, ZANU-PF supporters and their allies have blocked and threatened
victims of violence in need of medical treatment.
For example, in mid-April, a man from Mudzi, in Mashonaland East told Human
Rights Watch that he received severe wounds to his buttocks after being beaten with
logs by people he believes were ZANU-PF supporters. His attackers told him that if he
went to the hospital for treatment, they would come back and kill him. By the time he
78 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, May 7, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 40
managed to find medical treatment in Harare four days later, his flesh had begun to
rot.79
Medical personnel in Harare informed Human Rights Watch that the problem of
victims presenting with infected torture wounds had grown worse as threats against
doctors increased and roadblocks set up by ZANU-PF prevented people from
accessing treatment in the capital.80
Doctors and medical personnel in the provinces of Mashonaland Central,
Mashonaland West and Mashonaland East report that ZANU-PF supporters and “war
veterans” have routinely intimidated and threatened them in an attempt to prevent
them from treating victims of violence in the provinces. One doctor informed Human
Rights Watch that three of his colleagues had fled Mutoko district in Mashonaland
East after receiving threats from ZANU-PF supporters and “war veterans.”81
The acute lack of medicine and medical supplies in rural hospitals means that
victims who cannot access treatment in Harare are left untreated in the rural
hospitals. Medical personnel in Harare also informed Human Rights Watch that “war
veterans” and suspected CIO agents had prevented ambulances from Harare from
picking up victims hospitalized in the provinces of Mashonaland East, Mashonaland
West and Mashonaland Central on at least seven occasions.82
Arrests, Beatings and Torture of MDC activists in Harare
In urban areas, particularly in and around Harare, incidents of political violence have
taken two particular forms: First, indiscriminate beatings of people by police and
army following the imposition of an unofficial curfew in some of the high density
suburbs. Second, a targeted campaign against known MDC activists that mainly
takes place at night and is carried out by armed and uniformed members of the army
aided by ZANU-PF supporters. Armed and uniformed soldiers frequently use
supporters of ZANU-PF as informants to compile lists of names and addresses of
79 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 22, 2008. 80 Human Rights Watch interviews with medical personnel, Harare, April and May, 2008. 81 Human Rights Watch interview with doctor, Harare. April 17, 2008. 82 Human Rights Watch interviews, Harare, May 8, 2008.
41 Human Rights Watch 2008
known or perceived MDC supporters. The soldiers and ZANU-PF supporters then raid
the homes of known MDC activists at night, and abduct and beat them in the bush
on the outskirts Harare.
For example, an MDC activist from Dzivaresekwa Extension in Harare told Human
Rights Watch that on April 20, 12 armed soldiers in uniform came to his house at 3
a.m. while he was asleep. They beat his private security guard who was guarding his
cars in the yard, before proceeding to beat his 18-year-old son. He explained to
Human Rights Watch what followed after the soldiers found him:
They handcuffed me, hands at the back, then they dragged me naked
to their waiting truck, they blindfolded me (using my t-shirt) and took
me to their truck. In the truck they ordered me to lie on the floor of the
truck, face down, and they used my body as a foot stool, they all put
their feet on my body and the truck drove away, l had no idea where to
since l was blindfolded.
After some time the truck stopped and l was dragged out of the car
and they began to beat me using batons and chains, they beat me for
more than 30 minutes, all over my body, in my hands, on the soles of
my feet, on buttocks, everywhere, and the chains ripped flesh from my
body and left open wounds, l was bleeding profusely. When the
soldiers were beating me they said, “We are beating you because you
belong to MDC and you used your lorry to ferry MDC supporters to
rallies in this area.” This was true; l had used my lorry to carry MDC
supporters to meetings and rallies during the campaign period in
March. After beating me severely, they removed the handcuffs and left
me in the bush, still with the blindfold on.83
In the immediate aftermath of a “stay-away” organized by the MDC on April 15, in
protest of the delay in the release of the presidential election results, the violence in
the urban areas of Harare got worse.
83 Human Rights Watch interview with MDC activist, Harare, April, 19 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 42
Evelyn Masaiti, MDC MP for Dzivaresekwa where some of the worst violence in
Harare took place, told Human Rights Watch:
People were being beaten on Wednesday, April 16 at night accused of
barricading roads and organizing the “stay-away” by soldiers who
came in a truck and attacked everyone at the Dzivaresekwa 4
shopping center including vendors and children. Around 20 people
were attacked. Soldiers were in military regalia and in an army truck.
Some were in police uniform.
In the early hours of April 18 a ZANU-PF official identified where an
MDC security officer stays. They, the army, police and ZANU supporters
beat him up and forced him to show the homes of other MDC activists
including the ward 39 chairperson Mr Chipindu. It was early morning.
They beat him up and forced him to chew and swallow my [campaign]
posters. The people who went to his home told me that there was a lot
of blood at his home.
Then they went to other MDC activists homes and started beating them
up. If they couldn’t find the activists they would beat up their families.
Another group of MDC activists from Dzivaresekwa 4 were taken and
are now in police custody. As they were being beaten they were being
accused of barricading roads and burning a bus (which we believe had
an electrical fault). The man forced to chew my posters is also in police
custody. There is a presidential guard camp based in Dzivaresekwa.
They are trying to intimidate people and instill a lot of fear so that
when there is a runoff people won’t vote or will vote ZANU-PF.84
In Chitungwiza, Harare, 56-year-old Arthur Taderera, Chitungwiza Residents
Association Chairperson and chief election agent for an MDC MP, was assaulted by
soldiers on April 16 around 7 p.m. in the evening. He told Human Rights Watch of his
ordeal:
84 Human Rights Watch interview with Evelyn Masaiti, Harare, April 18, 2008.
43 Human Rights Watch 2008
I was driving towards St. Mary’s in Chitungwiza when l noticed four
soldiers in uniform beating up somebody on the side of the road. He
was lying down helpless as they beat him. I slowed down to
investigate but was stopped by one of the soldiers who had a gun. He
then ordered me out of the car at gunpoint. Without warning the
soldiers started beating me with batons, booted feet and a fan belt.
They beat me on the buttocks. Now my buttocks are heavily swollen
and blackened.
Another group of 10 soldiers came and accused me of being an MDC
member and belonging to Tsvangirai. As I was being beaten they were
ransacking the car. I had a letter which Tsvangirai wrote to the
business community in my car and that is when it became worse. They
kept beating me. They beat me for 20-25 minutes. One soldier, who
identified himself as Black Jesus did much of the beatings. They said
“You belong to Tsvangirai and you want to give the country to the
whites.” They said “We will murder you.” They were boasting of being
given a three-day assignment to “bring hell” to the people of
Chitungwiza.
I didn’t report to the police. Today I heard some guys had been beaten
up around C section in Chitungwiza by soldiers. They bragged about
how they can murder, torture and rape. They only let me go when they
stopped another car and started beating the drive that car. I did not
bother to make a police report because l know from experience that no
action is ever taken, in fact l feared the police would end up arresting
me.85
In a clear indication of the systematic and targeted nature of the violence, in the Glen
View high density suburb of Harare, uniformed and armed soldiers moved around
with a list of suspected MDC activists at night. At one house they arrived around 2
a.m. on April 18 and asked for a man who was on their list but was not at home.
85 Human Rights Watch interview with Arthur Taderera, Harare, April 17, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 44
When the man’s younger brother opened the door after the soldiers threatened to
break it down, he found three soldiers pointing their guns at him. He told Human
Rights Watch:
One of the soldiers began to beat me on the shoulders with a baton. l
was dragged to the front of the house where three other men were
lying on their stomachs after they had already been beaten. The leader
of the soldiers asked me if l was employed. l said, “yes, l am a lorry
driver.” They said, l know my crime, and must state it, already the
soldiers had seen Tsvangirai’s portrait on the wall, so l confirmed that l
support MDC. The soldiers said someone had informed them that me
and my brothers support MDC, they had received a mobile text
message indicating that we are MDC members.
I did not know my assailants, but only know that they were armed and
in army uniform, and drove an army truck. Two people were taken
away by army, l fear for their lives. I did not make a police report, it’s a
waste of time, they take no action, and otherwise they may arrest me.86
At times the violence was random and indiscriminate but nonetheless targeted at
neighborhoods suspected of supporting the MDC. For example, on April 17 soldiers
descended on a popular nightclub in Warren Park and beat up everyone in the night
club. One of the patrons narrated his ordeal:
Around 2 a.m. on Thursday 17 April 2008, a group of uniformed
soldiers came into Club M5 in Westlea, Warren Park and ordered the DJ
to switch off the music. All the people in the night club were ordered to
surrender their mobile phones and other personal effects such as
handbags and wallets, and then commanded to lie down on their
tummies.
86 Human Rights Watch interview with victim, Harare, April 20, 2008.
45 Human Rights Watch 2008
For the next three hours we were beaten up. The soldiers used the
butts of their guns to randomly assault us. The victims included a
patrons, staff and a dancing group called Malaika. The soldiers wore
hoods over their helmets to cover their faces. They accused us of
supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and
celebrating their victory in the March 29 elections. We were accused of
selling the country to the West. Ladies were beaten more than the men.
Because they were skimpily dressed the dance group was accused of
being in the process of making pornographic material for use to please
the whites.87
In addition to the violence and torture perpetrated by the army, the police also
embarked on a series of arrests of hundreds of MDC activists and supporters. In the
immediate aftermath of the “stay-away” on April 15 police arrested more than 100
MDC activists.
Human rights lawyer Tafadzwa Mugabe, who defended many of the accused, told
Human Rights Watch:
People are being beaten up and taken to the nearest police station on
charges of disorderly conduct or public disorder. Some people have
been released and fined while known MDC activists have been
detained. A bus was burnt on April 15. This is the excuse the police are
using for the arrests. Police descended on Warren Park with the
assistance of ZANU youth and they picked up MDC officials. They even
picked up the relatives if they couldn’t find who they were looking for.
All these people have been put together and are now being charged
with attempted murder. Our understanding is that the bus is supposed
to have developed an electrical fault.88
87 “ZIMRIGHTS Press Statement on Post-Election Violence,” ZIMRIGHTS, April 29, 2008. 88 Human Rights Watch interview with Tafadzwa Mugabe, human rights lawyer, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Harare, April 20, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 46
On April 25, more than 40 armed riot police raided the headquarters of the MDC in
Harare and arrested 250 people who had fled violence in the rural areas and had
taken refuge in the building. Police accused some of them of carrying out attacks
against ZANU-PF supporters in Mashonaland East.89
Violence, Looting and the Destruction of Homes and Property in
Mashonaland, Masvingo and Manicaland
The ongoing violence has led to the internal displacement of more than 3,000
Zimbabweans around the country. Human Rights Watch believes that ZANU-PF is
deliberately displacing thousands of people from their homes in the rural areas both
in an effort to change the political landscape of these areas and to prevent MDC
supporters from exercising their right to vote during the presidential runoff. The
ruling party appears to have orchestrated this mass displacement to ensure that
those affected by the abuses cannot return home. It has done so through a campaign
of beatings, burning of huts and homesteads, the deliberate slaughter of livestock,
and the looting of property.
89 “Zimbabwe surge in state-sponsored violence: security forces raid opposition headquarters,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 25, 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/25/zimbab18653.htm.
47 Human Rights Watch 2008
ZANU-PF supporters and “war veterans” invaded this farm and burned 10 homesteads belonging to the farm's workers. The farm workers were accused of supporting the MDC. Over 35 families were displaced when these homesteads were burned in Mashonaland Central province, April 2008. © 2008 Tiseke Kasambala/Human Rights Watch.
Civil society organizations and victims and eyewitnesses from areas affected by the
violence inform Human Rights Watch that hundreds of people are now living in the
bush, grouping together for security at night.90 Human Rights Watch researchers
visited the burnt homesteads of several MDC activists and those perceived to have
voted for the MDC in Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central provinces.
In Karoi district, reports from local partners and victims indicate that more than 600
people were displaced by the violence in April.91 In Harare more than 200 people
sought shelter at MDC Headquarters at Harvest House after escaping violence in
rural areas across the country in April.92 By May 21 there were 350 displaced persons
at Harvest House. In Manicaland more than 500 people were displaced and sought
90 Human Rights Watch interviews, April, May and June 2008. 91 Human Rights Watch interview with Biggie Haurobi, MDC official, Karoi, Mashonaland West, April 30, 2008. 92 Human Rights Watch interview with Thokozani Khupe, MDC Vice President, Harare, April 23, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 48
shelter at the MDC provincial headquarters in Mutare and were later moved to
various safe locations around Mutare.93 Victims in Harare informed Human Rights
Watch that hundreds of other people had fled into Mozambique from Mashonaland
East and from Manicaland.94 Further violence in May saw the number of displaced
reach more than 3,000.95
A 22-year-old man from Mudzi, Makanjera Village, Mashonaland East told Human
Rights Watch that on April 11 at 9 p.m., several ZANU-PF supporters broke into his
shop at Makanjera shopping center, attacked him and took property from his shop:
There was a knock at door. I did not answer. A man and a woman
broke the door and dragged me out. They used burning grass to burn
my hands and face. They started beating me with wooden logs.
Outside, two women and six men in ZANU-PF attire were waiting and
accused me of “selling out,” of being a member of the MDC . The
women then entered the shop and began to loot all stock, they also
broke all shop windows and took all wares from shop.
I know some of those who attacked me; it was a team of father and his
two sons who l know very well, but I do not know the women. A police
car passing by stopped and took me and four others to Kotwa hospital.
At Kotwa Hospital we were not treated, we were simply transferred to
Harare on the same day. I suffered a broken left hand, four broken
fingers on my left hand on four different places, and on my right hand l
broke an index finger and thumb, and have burn wounds on both
hands. I am too scared to go back home now.96
93 Human Rights Watch interview with ZLHR lawyer in Mutare, Manicaland, April 28, 2008. 94 Specific figures were not available as these areas have become virtually inaccessible because of unofficial roadblocks set up by “war veterans” to stop people from leaving the areas. 95 Human Rights Watch interviews with local civil society organizations, international humanitarian organizations, and MDC officials, Harare, April and May, 2008. 96 Human Rights Watch interview with 22-year-old man, Harare, April 17, 2008.
49 Human Rights Watch 2008
In another example, Mapengo Mapengu, campaign manager for the losing MDC MP
candidate for Mutoko South constituency, Mashonaland East lost all his property
when ZANU-PF youths destroyed his home. He told Human Rights Watch:
We campaigned and went for elections. Soon after the elections we
started receiving threats. On Saturday [April 13] I drove to my rural
home and 10 minutes after a group of more than 300 ZANU youths and
“war vets” came to the gate. They came to the first gate and placed
barricades of stones and trees. Some friends of mine were in my home
with me. They started stoning us. We waited two minutes. They
approached the second gate. I got inside my house and got my rifle
303 to defend myself. I shot the first bullet in the air to clear them but
they didn’t. As I was planning to shoot a second time I was hit by a
stone from a catapult. I shot twice more and they started running away.
My leg was injured from the stoning. We went to my friend’s home in
village 93 and we rested there. My friend later went to my home to
collect my truck. When he got there he found my mother was severely
beaten. My vehicle was destroyed. My home was destroyed with iron
bars. The window panes were broken. The fridges, bedroom suite, wall
unit, kitchen unit, were all destroyed. I had more than 70 pigs and only
33 are now left but they killed the rest. Yesterday I received a call from
the police and they told me that the youth were taking animals from
my home. The police are scared. My money was stolen. My mother is in
great pain and she is with my sister.97
97 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 18, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 50
Scores of "war veterans" destroyed the home of an MDC activist in Manicaland province in April 2008. They broke the windowpanes and burnt his kitchen and granary and then abducted and beat him with iron bars and logs. © 2008 Tiseke Kasambala/Human Rights Watch.
51 Human Rights Watch 2008
A 54-year-old woman from Makoni North in Manicaland province told Human Rights
Watch:
On 16 April ZANU-PF youths came to my house at 12 noon and began
beating me and family for voting MDC because my husband is an MDC
village chairman. They beat me and my whole family with wooden logs.
They broke my left foot, six of us, my husband, son and his wife,
daughter and my young sister. Our homestead was burnt down; three
huts in total were burnt down. We reported at Mayo Police Station at 2
p.m., police came at 3 p.m. on 17 April.98
The woman’s 33-year-old son continued the account:
l fainted during the beatings. I was also struck on the forehead by a
stone fired from a catapult by one of the ZANU-PF members who came
to beat us. We know the perpetrators, they are ZANU-PF, they were
over 200 of them who came to beat us, they shouted to each other,
“Surround the homestead!” I ran into my hut to get an axe to defend
my family, we tried to fight them and drove them back for about 200
meters, my wife ran to police—who did not respond, saying they did
not have a car to come to our rescue, although it is a walking distance
to our home. Soon, they [ZANU-PF members] overpowered us and
begun to beat us. We lost cash and a mobile phone. They burnt down
a bag of tobacco, a ton of maize and family blankets were burnt to
ashes. We as a family do not know where to start now, we lost
everything. I sustained three open wounds, catapult inflicted, on
forehead, left leg and left hand, also my right hand was broken during
the beatings.99
A 41-year-old man from Makoni North in Manicaland told Human Rights Watch:
98 Human Rights Watch interview with 41-year-old man, Harare April 19, 2008. 99 Human Rights Watch interview with 54-year-old woman, Harare, April 19, 2008.
“Bullets for Each of You” 52
More than 20 ZANU-PF youth came and caught me and handcuffed me
and begun beating me. I was taken to their base. A few of them went to
my home and burnt down my kitchen and destroyed my seven-room
house. Everything was burnt. My wife and children all run away when I
was captured and I do not know where they are. I must go and look for
them.100
Attacks by MDC Activists
The overwhelming majority of attacks documented by Human Rights Watch were
being carried out by ZANU-PF and its allies. However, MDC activists have been
implicated in a few attacks involving the burning of homesteads belonging to ZANU-
PF officials and supporters. For example, an MDC activist whose home was burnt by
ZANU-PF supporters in Mashonaland West told Human Rights Watch that on April 11
he had helped burn the homesteads of seven ZANU-PF supporters.
100 Human Rights Watch interview with 33-year-old man, Harare, April 19, 2008.
53 Human Rights Watch 2008
VII. Harassment and Attacks on Civil Society
Since the March 29 elections, the ruling ZANU-PF government has sought to
undermine the ability of various civil society actors who could possibly play a role in
drawing attention to lack of freedom and unfairness in the runoff election for
president. This includes threats, arbitrary arrests and physical assaults apparently
intended to intimidate those who will observe and oversee the elections, such as
government election officers, local election observers, civil society activists, lawyers
and journalists. Such methods have been used in the past by the government of
Zimbabwe against perceived political opponents.
Attacks on Election Observers
Since March 29, police have arrested more than 100 presiding officers from the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on allegations of fraud.101 Human Rights Watch
believes that these charges are politically motivated and an attempt to instill fear
into those observers who will oversee the presidential runoff. Most of those who
worked as presiding officers were teachers who in the past have been routinely
targeted and victimized as MDC supporters because of their positions.
One presiding officer, a teacher from Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central told Human
Rights Watch:
As a result of the threats and insecurity, many teachers have left the
school, where I teach. l am living in fear and am not sure if l will be
able to continue working at the school … l was told by one ZANU-PF
youth that l am on a list of people who will be targeted by “war
veterans” because l was a presiding officer at Howard Mission Polling
Station where ZANU-PF lost to MDC. War veterans accuse me of
masterminding the defeat of ZANU-PF. From May 5-9, l was in police
custody at Bindura Police Station after a member of ZANU-PF had lied
to police that l had threatened to burn down some houses. After 5 101 “Press statement on ongoing arrests of presiding officers,” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, April 30, 2008. On file with Human Rights Watch.
“Bullets for Each of You” 54
days in custody, l was freed by the magistrate and now l fear for my life,
and for the safety of my family.102
On May 7, 2008, the Herald newspaper reported that five presiding officers (all
teachers) who took part in the March 29 general elections in Chiredzi in Masvingo
province were found guilty of fraud and were told to pay fines or face jail terms of
between three and 16 months.103
On April 25, eight Criminal Investigation Department (CID) police officers raided the
offices of the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN), the only nationwide
independent election monitoring organization, which had compiled its own data on
the disputed March 29 elections. Police officers searched the premises and
confiscated files and other sensitive information. They interrogated ZESN’s program
manager, Tsungai Kokerai, for seven hours.104
On May 14, ZESN released a statement expressing concern about attacks on its
election observers in Mt. Darwin, Mashonaland West by suspected ZANU-PF
supporters who accused them of facilitating an MDC victory on March 29. At least 18
election observers from this area were forced to flee to Harare with their families,
where they were in need of assistance. ZESN also reported that one of its observers
died after being beaten by suspected ZANU-PF supporters in Mt Darwin East.105 On
May 23, 2008, ZESN reported that two days earlier ZANU-PF youth severely beat and
tortured three of its observers in Mt Darwin East, Mashonaland West.106 The two men
and an elderly woman suffered fractured arms, fractured fingers, deep cuts and
bruises from severe beatings.
Arrests of Journalists, Lawyers and Civil Society Activists
Arbitrary arrests and intimidation of civil society activists, human rights defenders
and journalists have intensified since the March 29 elections.
102 Human Rights Watch interview with presiding officer, Harare, May 16, 2008. 103 “Five Teachers Fined,” The Herald newspaper, May 7, 2008. 104 “Zimbabwe surge in state-sponsored violence: security forces raid opposition headquarters,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 25, 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/25/zimbab18653.htm. 105 “ZESN observers flee homes as violence escalates – Mt Darwin East,” ZESN statement, May 14, 2008. 106 “ZESN continues to receive distressing reports on observer attacks,” ZESN statement, May 23, 2008.
55 Human Rights Watch 2008
On April 15 police arrested independent journalist Frank Chikowore for practicing
journalism without accreditation under the Access to Information and Protection
Act.107 Police changed the charges to “public violence” when they discovered that
Chikowore was accredited, claiming that he was part of a group of MDC activists that
burned a bus that day. After spending 17 days in custody Chikowore was granted bail
on May 2.108 On May 8, police arrested human rights lawyer Harrison Nkomo who was
part of the team defending Chikowore. Nkomo was held for two days on charges of
insulting the authority of the president.109
Also on May 8, police arrested Lovemore Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions, and Secretary General Wellington Chibebe a week after
they gave speeches about the political crisis in the country on May Day. They were
charged with “inciting people to rise against the government and reporting
falsehoods of people being killed.” The two were held in custody at Harare remand
prison for 11 days before being released on bail on May 19.110
On May 16, the police arrested Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers Union
of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) Raymond Majongwe at the Harare High Court. The PTUZ had
released repeated statements expressing concern at ZANU-PF attacks on teachers
throughout the country in the aftermath of the elections.111
107 “Accredited Journalist Still in Police Custody,” Media Institute of South Africa Alert Update, April 16, 2008. 108 Human Rights Watch interview with Tafadzwa Mugabe, human rights lawyer, Harare, April 23, 2008; Human Rights Watch interview with Harrison Nkomo, lawyer, April 25, 2008. 109 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Beatrice Mtetwa, lawyer, Harare May 8, 2008 and Human Rights Watch interview with Harrison Nkomo, lawyer, Harare, May 11, 2008. 110 “Urgent Appeal,” The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, May 14, 2008, http://www.protectionline.org/Zimbabwe-Arbitrary-detention-of,6842.html, (accessed May 28, 2008). 111 “Urgent Appeal,” The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, May 16, 2008, http://www.protectionline.org/Zimbabwe-Arbitrary-arrest-of-Mr,6880.html, (accessed May 28, 2008).
“Bullets for Each of You” 56
VIII. Government Response to the Abuses
The government of Zimbabwe’s response to the violence taking place around the
country has been contradictory and grossly duplicitous. While behind the scenes
senior officials are organizing the violence, publicly the government has both tried to
downplay and distance itself from it.
On the one hand, the government has claimed that reports of violence have been
exaggerated by the western media, that the MDC is the main perpetrator and that
government officials and security forces have no responsibility for it. On the other
hand, the authorities have made statements denouncing the abuses and have called
for “multi-party” committees to look into ways of addressing the violence.112
The government and the state security forces and other state agents are fully
responsible for the violence. The authorities have failed to ensure that the police
deal impartially with the perpetrators of violence regardless of their affiliation. By
allowing the main perpetrators of these abuses to act with impunity the government
of Zimbabwe bears full responsibility for the serious crimes committed in its name.
Failure of the Police to Prevent Violence
While this report has described a number of incidents when police officers stepped
in to rescue victims or to break up beatings, in most cases, police have failed to take
action when ZANU-PF and its allies have assaulted alleged MDC supporters. Victims
have consistently complained of the reluctance of law enforcement officers to deal
with the violence. In several cases documented by Human Rights Watch where
victims made reports of assault and other human rights abuses to the police, the
standard response from the police was to note the incident and take no further
action. Almost invariably no arrests were made by the police in cases of political
violence.
112 “ZEC to establish multi-party liaison committees,” Xinhua news agency, May 18, 2008, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/19/content_8203117.htm (accessed May, 28, 2008).
57 Human Rights Watch 2008
A 41-year-old man told Human Rights Watch that on April 12, he reported to police at
Nyamapanda police station that “war veterans” and ZANU-PF supporters had
assaulted him, stolen a radio and sewing machine from his hut, and then burned
down his huts and maize. He said the police at the station simply noted his case but
took no further action.113
A woman who was severely assaulted by ZANU-PF supporters and “war veterans” in
Mudzi, Mashonaland East was taken by relatives to Kotwa Police Station to make a
report. Four other victims of political violence accompanied her. At the station the
police simply gave the victims letters to take to Kotwa hospital for medical attention.
Although the woman could identify her assailants—they were ZANU-PF youths from
her village—the police took no action in the case.114
Police officers and others have told Human Rights Watch that the police are under
strict instructions not to interfere with “political issues” and are not in a position to
assist victims.115 These police officers said that police are operating under the
instructions of senior army and government officials and are thus unable to operate
independently in dealing with the violence.116
For example, a 38-year-old man from Mutoko reported being beaten by ZANU-PF
supporters on April 10 at his home. When he made a report at Mutoko Central Police
Station the police officer handling his case allegedly said, “Go and fight back, the
police will not interfere in political issues.”117 A woman told Human Rights Watch that
when she reported her case at the same police station, she was told that police at
the station were under strict instructions from their superiors not to arrest those
involved in political violence or interfere in any way.
113 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 114 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 115 Human Rights Watch interviews with police and prison services officers, Harare, May 19, 2008. 116 Human Rights Watch interviews with police and prison services officers, Harare, May 19, 2008. 117 Human Rights Watch interview with 38-year-old man, Harare April 17, 2008. Failure to act by the police is not a new phenomenon. At the height of the “farm invasions” in 2000, the police refused to comply with court orders to evict war veterans who had invaded farms, arguing that police did not have sufficient resources to handle the matter. See, for example, Commissioner of Police v. Commercial Farmers Union, Case No. HC3985/2000.
“Bullets for Each of You” 58
In another case, a man who reported his case at Janhi police station in Mutoko South,
Mashonaland East was told by police that they would only pursue his case after the
violence and political disturbances were over and things had calmed down.118 In
Uzumba, Mashonaland East, police allegedly told one victim: “We cannot guarantee
your security because the people who attacked you are not controllable, so it is
better you leave the area for now.”119
Police only appear to respond with urgency to acts of violence where there are
allegations of MDC responsibility. The quick reaction by the police on April 15 and 16
in arresting hundreds of MDC supporters alleged to have burned a bus in Harare lies
in stark contrast to the lack of arrests in incidents involving known “war veterans”
and ZANU-PF supporters.
Human Rights Watch documented only two cases of politically motivated violence in
which police had made arrests. In Karoi on April 12, police arrested four ZANU-PF
activists suspected of stabbing to death Tapiwa Mbwanda120 The four are now in
custody and their case is before the Chinhoyi Magistrates court. In Manicaland,
police arrested four ZANU-PF supporters following the torching of several homes
belonging to MDC supporters.121 However the four were subsequently released
without charge.
The lack of police action to deal with the “war veterans” and youth militia has also
allowed these groups to take control of rural areas, through the creation of "no-go"
areas across broad swathes of countryside. The police in many of these areas appear
to have relinquished control to the “war veterans” and youth militias. This failure to
investigate and arrest perpetrators is exacerbated by the direct involvement of the
police, often alongside ZANU-PF supporters and their allies, in politically motivated
abuses, including arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture and abductions.
118 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 119 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 120 Human Rights Watch interview, Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West, April 30, 2008. 121 Human Rights Watch interview with victims, Harare, April 21, 2008.
59 Human Rights Watch 2008
IX. Zimbabwe’s International Human Rights Obligations
Since the March 29 general elections, the government of Zimbabwe has been
responsible for numerous and widespread violations of international human rights
law. These include torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,
arbitrary arrests and detention, and extrajudicial executions. In addition to
protections provided under its Constitution,122 Zimbabwe is party to international
human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights123
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),124 that prohibit
such practices.
Governments have a duty to investigate and prosecute serious violations of
physical integrity under international law. The UN Human Rights Committee,
which monitors the compliance of state parties to the ICCPR, has stated that
governments not only have a duty to protect their citizens from such
violations, but also to investigate violations when they occur and to bring the
perpetrators to justice.125 According to the committee, when investigations
uncover violations of human rights:
States Parties must ensure that those responsible are brought to
justice. As with failure to investigate, failure to bring to justice
perpetrators of such violations could in and of itself give rise to a
separate breach of the Covenant. These obligations arise notably in
respect of those violations recognized as criminal under either
domestic or international law, such as torture and similar cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment (article 7), summary and arbitrary
[and] killing (article 6) … Indeed, the problem of impunity for these
violations, a matter of sustained concern by the Committee, may well
122 Chapter 3, the Bill of Rights, Constitution of Zimbabwe 1979. 123 African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, entered into force October 21, 1986, ratified by Zimbabwe on May 30, 1986. 124 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), entered into force March 23, 1976, acceded to by Zimbabwe on August 13, 1991. 125 U.N. Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 on Article 2 of the Covenant: The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/74/CRP.4/Rev.6 (2004), para 15.
“Bullets for Each of You” 60
be an important contributing element in the recurrence of the
violations126
International human rights law also enshrines the right to an effective remedy.127 A
victim’s right to an effective remedy not only obligates the state to prevent,
investigate and punish serious human rights violations, but also provide reparations.
Among various reparations mechanisms, states should restore the right violated and
provide compensation for damages.128
With regard to those who have been internally displaced by the violence, under the
United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement the government of
Zimbabwe has a “primary duty and responsibility to provide protection and
humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons within its jurisdiction.”129
126 Ibid., para. 18. 127 ICCPR, art. 2(3). 128 According to the Human Rights Committee, the ICCPR “requires that States Parties make reparation to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated. Without reparation to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated, the obligation to provide an effective remedy, which is central to the efficacy of [enforcing the ICCPR] is not discharged. … [T]he Covenant generally entails appropriate compensation.” Human Rights Committee, General Comment 31, para. 16. Compensation covers material losses, such as medical expenses and the loss of earnings, as well as economically assessable moral damage, such as pain and suffering. See Reparations Principles, principle 20. 129 The U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, U.N. Document E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2; November 11, 1998. The Guiding Principles provide an authoritative normative framework for the protection of IDPs. Although not legally binding, the Guiding Principles are a firm reinstatement of existing international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law relating to the internally displaced. They draw heavily on existing standards and provide additional guidance and explanation where there are gaps. They are intended to provide practical guidance to governments, other competent authorities, the U.N. and other governmental agencies and NGOs in their work with IDPs.
61 Human Rights Watch 2008
X. Impunity and the Need for Accountability
Impunity for perpetrators of human rights abuses has a long history in Zimbabwe. In
the past, the government has granted amnesties to perpetrators of grave human
rights violations. On April 18, 1988, as part of the Unity Accord between ZANU (as it
was known then) and the Zimbabwe African Peoples’ Union, the government issued
a general amnesty in Clemency Order (1) of 18 April 1988, which provided amnesty to
state security forces and the so-called dissidents implicated in human rights abuses
between 1982 and the end of 1987 in the Midlands and Matabeleland.130
Following politically motivated violence surrounding elections in 2000, President
Mugabe proclaimed a clemency order that granted indemnity to every person liable
to criminal prosecution for political crimes committed during the period January 1,
2000 to July 31, 2000, excluding the crimes of rape, murder and fraud, but including
grievous bodily harm (such as torture).131
For future political stability in the country, it is imperative that Zimbabwe breaks with
the past and investigates and brings to justice all those responsible for serious
abuses in the aftermath of the March 29 elections, including those who may have
planned and organized them. Any government arising out of the presidential runoff
on June 27 or any negotiations between the two main parties should not grant
amnesty to perpetrators of serious crimes.
Future governments of Zimbabwe will need to address the issue of accountability for
past and recent violations of human rights by high ranking individuals. Independent,
impartial and transparent investigations will need to be an important component of
this process. And the people of Zimbabwe will have an important role to play in
bringing the tragic facts of this period to the forefront, not just for the historical
record, but to ensure that justice is done.
130 Clemency Order No 1 of 1998. Amnesty International, “The Toll of Impunity,” AFR 46/034/2002, June 25, 2002, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR46/034/2002 (accessed June 5, 2008). 131 Clemency Order No. 1 of 2000. see also Amnesty International, “The Toll of Impunity,” June 25, 2002.
“Bullets for Each of You” 62
XI. Response of International Actors
SADC and the AU
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU)
remain crucial to resolving the political crisis in Zimbabwe and ending the violence.
While some regional leaders, namely President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia, have
been forthright in condemning the violence and criticizing the political situation in
Zimbabwe, others such as President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa have refused to
acknowledge the serious nature of the situation. For example, on a visit to Harare on
May 9, Mbeki failed to condemn or call for an end to the violence even after he
received a preliminary report on the violence from a group of South African former
army generals he had appointed to investigate the situation.132
These markedly different positions have prevented the regional bodies from taking
concerted and decisive action to intervene in the crisis. A regional summit organized
by SADC leaders to address the situation in Zimbabwe on April 12 led to little
concrete action.133 While SADC leaders rightly expressed concern about the delay in
the release of presidential election results, they did little to address the
government’s widespread violations of international human rights.134
The inaction of the regional bodies has emboldened the government of Zimbabwe to
turn the institutions of state even more aggressively against Zimbabweans seeking
democratic change. Decisive political action is needed by the AU and SADC with the
help of the UN to press the government to end the violence and prevent a very bad
situation from getting even worse. This means going beyond current regional
diplomatic initiatives such as the SADC mediation process.
132 Tererai Karimakwenda, “Mbeki’s Generals Investigating Violence,” SWRadio Africa, May 13, 2008, http://allafrica.com/stories/200805130957.html (accessed May, 28, 2008); “Mbeki sends generals to Zim,” News 24, May 12, 2008, http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2321153,00.html (accessed May 28, 2008). 133 “Zimbabwe last chance for SADC to tackle crisis,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 10, 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/10/zimbab18502.htm. 134 Earlier, the SADC electoral observer team released a statement expressing satisfaction with the election conditions on March 29 despite significant flaws in the electoral process which violated both the AU charter and SADC guidelines on the conduct of elections. AU observers released a similarly disappointing statement after the elections.
63 Human Rights Watch 2008
While the mediation process may have led to some improvements in the electoral
process leading up to the March 29 elections,135 it failed to address the root causes
of the current political crisis in Zimbabwe—namely the government of Zimbabwe’s
violations of international human rights standards. In light of the widespread and
systematic nature of the recent violence, SADC and the AU should abandon the
mediation process altogether and take more robust steps to end the violence.
The AU and SADC should deploy election observer teams that have a sufficiently
strong mandate to ensure that the election results reflect the will of the people. They
should refuse to endorse any results that do not meet this requirement. The AU and
SADC electoral teams have a responsibility to report on the runoff based on regional
principles guiding elections, and in a manner that accurately reflects the conditions
on the ground.
The issue of accountability should also be foremost in the minds of regional leaders.
SADC heads of state have long ignored the violence that has marred previous
elections in Zimbabwe, and have failed to push for a process of accountability. The
time has now come for regional leaders ensure that the long term impunity that has
marred Zimbabwe’s history is addressed. Peace and justice will remain elusive
unless there is sustained action to address the political crisis that has led to past
and recent abuses. To this end pressure on the government of Zimbabwe is essential
to ensure accountability for recent violence.
Other International Actors
The European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom continue to
condemn the violence and maintain travel sanctions and asset freezes against
senior government and ZANU-PF officials. However, the long-term breakdown in
relations between the government of Zimbabwe and its western development
partners—especially the United Kingdom—has hindered their ability to work with
African leaders to find a solution to Zimbabwe’s crisis.
135 For example, the introduction of results being placed outside polling stations.
“Bullets for Each of You” 64
Various UN officials have continued to engage with the crisis by releasing a series of
statements condemning the violence and offering assistance to help resolve the
crisis. In a meeting with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on April 21, UN Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern about the post-electoral situation and
said he would consult with the AU on the way forward.136 He expressed further
concern about the violence on May 7.137 On April 29, six UN Special Rapporteurs—on
extrajudicial killings, torture, violence against women, housing, free expression, and
human rights defenders—issued a statement condemning the violence in Zimbabwe.
On May 13, 2008 the UN country team to Zimbabwe voiced its concerns over
politically motivated violence.138
UN agencies have found it increasingly difficult to continue their work in the midst of
the violence. In a statement on May 2, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
condemned the “increases in violence affecting children, and growing hindrances in
reaching the most vulnerable.”139 On May 21, UNICEF issued another statement
reporting that the violence had hampered ongoing relief efforts throughout the
country.140
On May 13, UN Country Team Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator to Zimbabwe,
Agustino Zacarias, released a statement expressing concern over the politically
motivated violence and the humanitarian problems arising from the violence. In the
statement the UN Country Team expressed its worries over those who had fled their
homes—out of fear of reprisals—and lacked food, shelter and other basic social
services, which could lead to unprecedented humanitarian needs.141
136 “Secretary General meets with Zimbabwean opposition leader over election crisis,” UN press statement, April 21, 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26401&Cr=zimbabwe&Cr1 (accessed May 27, 2008). 137 “Secretary-General, closely following evolving situation in Zimbabwe, says international observers needed for future stages of electoral process,” UN press statement, May 7, 2008, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11553.doc.htm (accessed June 5, 2008). 138 “Zimbabwe: UN voices concern over politically-motivated violence,” UN press statement, May 13, 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26658&Cr=zimbabwe&Cr1= (accessed May 27, 2008). 139 “UNICEF deplores impact of violence on children,” UNICEF press release, May 2, 2008, http://www.unicef.org.uk/press/news_detail.asp?news_id=1121 (accessed May 27, 2008). 140 “Conditions in Zimbabwe could reach crisis levels if violence continues,” UNICEF statement, May 21, 2008, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zimbabwe_44071.html (accessed May 27, 2008). 141 “Zimbabwe: UN voices concern over politically-motivated violence,” UN press statement, May 13, 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26658&Cr=zimbabwe&Cr1= (accessed May 27, 2008).
65 Human Rights Watch 2008
Further, the government has prevented a number of international aid agencies from
distributing food aid around the country. On May 29, 2008, Zimbabwe’s Minister of
Social Welfare, Nicolas Goche, issued a directive prohibiting a major international
aid agency from distributing food in Masvingo province.142 Goche alleged that
international aid agencies are using food distribution programs, set up to reach
Zimbabwe’s population, to support the campaign of the MDC, Zimbabwe’s main
opposition party. Local sources also informed Human Rights Watch that Goche has
also blocked other aid agencies from distributing food in Masvingo, Manicaland, and
Mashonaland provinces until after the June 27 presidential elections.143
On May 29, the minister of local government, Dr. Ignatious Chombo, issued a
separate directive stating that all rural areas would fall under the jurisdiction of his
ministry and that all food aid distribution would be carried out through local
government structures.144 The decision of the government to suspend food aid by
international agencies effectively put the control of food distribution in the hands of
the government.145 However, the ongoing violence and these recent developments
have failed to place Zimbabwe on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council, largely due to China and South Africa, has not made a
determination that the situation in Zimbabwe is a threat to international peace and
security. This has nullified the ability of the body to deal decisively with Zimbabwe. A
special Security Council briefing on Zimbabwe on April 29 failed to lead to any
significant Security Council action.146 The failure of regional diplomatic initiatives to
address the political crisis in Zimbabwe calls for greater engagement from bodies
such as the United Nations. The situation in Zimbabwe now warrants a higher level of
engagement. The time has come for the UN Secretary-General to work together with
142 “Zimbabwe: Reverse Ban on Food Aid to Rural Areas,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 4, 2008, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/06/04/zimbab19022.htm. 143 Human Rights Watch telephone interviews with local sources, London, June 4, 2008. 144 “Zimbabwe: Reverse Ban on Food Aid to Rural Areas,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 4, 2008. 145 In March 2008, Human Rights Watch reported on the politicization of the distribution of both agricultural equipment and food. Human Rights Watch documented allegations of political interference in the distribution of free agricultural equipment (under the government’s farm mechanization program) and state-subsidized maize and seed from the government’s Grain and Marketing Board. Such manipulation is not new to Zimbabwe. Human Rights Watch reports from 2003 and 2005 have documented how food assistance has been denied to suspected supporters of Zimbabwe's main opposition party and to residents of former commercial farms resettled under the country's “fast-track” land reform program. 146 “Security Council Splits Over Election Impasse,” allAfrica.com, April 30, 2008, http://allafrica.com/stories/200804300339.html (accessed April 30, 2008).
“Bullets for Each of You” 66
AU leaders and use his office to appoint a Special Envoy on Zimbabwe to investigate
and report on the abuses taking place in the country.
67 Human Rights Watch 2008
XII. Acknowledgements
This report was researched and written by Tiseke Kasambala, researcher in the Africa
division of Human Rights Watch, and a consultant to the Africa division.
The report was edited by Georgette Gagnon, Africa director in the Africa division;
James Ross, Legal and Policy director; and Andrew Mawson, deputy director of the
Program office of Human Rights Watch.
Production assistance was provided by Lucy Cohen, associate in the Africa division.
Anna Lopriore coordinated photo preparation and Grace Choi prepared the report for
publication.
Human Rights Watch would like to thank all local civil society organizations that
provided valuable information and to all the brave Zimbabweans who agreed to be
interviewed for this report.